Mutation
by x-lady-lestat-x
Summary: Nazi Vampire Scientists called The Blitz have kidnapped Xander. During WWII the scientists were human and assigned to creating the perfect human, a superior race. As vampires, they want to continue working to make the perfect vampire. Next is The Blitz.
1. Lost and Found

-1December

Tuesday, 8:30 PM

The group (Xander, Buffy, Willow, Spike and Dawn) were in the graveyard fighting a gang of fifteen vampires.

The vampires had begin to retreat, but not before five mugged Xander. Six stayed behind, sacrificing themselves so the others could make a clean escape. It didn't take long for the vampires to be turned to dust, and the group realized that Xander was gone without a trace….

"Did any of you see which way they went?" Buffy asked frantically.

"Sorry, but I was pretty much trying to see anything that wasn't _double_. I didn't catch which one of the blurs was the real gang," Willow explained as calmly as she could, rubbing at the mark that was appearing on her cheek.

Buffy gave a hard sigh. "They'd be to the park by now... and that's if they didn't have a car."

"And if they had a car?" Dawn asked, as though there might be some optimistic side of the situation.

"Out of town," Spike explained sadly.

"I was busy with staking dumb, dumber, and dumbest. Did _you_ see which way they went?" Buffy asked Spike hopefully. "_Did_ they have a car?"

Spike gave a sigh, giving into the pressure for information. "I saw that herd of them run out of the South Gate, but with the last three trying to rip apart our ladies, here," he gestured to Dawn and Willow, "there's no way I could have caught up to them. I _have_ met their gang, though," he continued a bit more helpfully. "They'd have a car waiting less than a block from here and would be out of town with the rest of their friends within an hour."

"They took Xander," Dawn said, in shock as she finally realized the gravity of the situation.

Willow nodded. "But _why _did they take him?"

"And who exactly are they?" Buffy added.

"What's the group's background?" Willow continued.

"'Called _The Blitz_ and been a gang for a' least sixty years," Spike began easily. "They run in packs and kill a lot before moving onto the next town. Anyone they think is strong enough, they take with them to be _recruited_. Not all of them are brainless grunts. The leaders are scientists. They're big into experimenting on people. Some crazy vamps from Germany, way back near the end of World War II, decided to change a bunch of Nazi scientists into vampires. Those buggers were experimenting on humans to make some sort of superior human. They've kept their work going since then, trying to engineer a superior _vampire_: a thirst for blood, no soul, and no weakness to sunlight, crosses, or any of that jazz. They've been embezzling money since the first computers were used by banks, so they have a fortune for research. They've become obsessed with making the perfect vampire; they are mixing vampire traits into humans but trying to keep them human enough to survive the sun. Xander'll probably be undead by tomorrow night... or maybe worse."

"You mean _just_ dead?" Willow asked in a small voice.

"No," Spike said slowly. "_Worse_."

Willow's jaw dropped. "T-They'd make Xander into some sort of mix between vampire and human?" she asked nervously.

"That's more likely than making him a regular vampire, actually... You see, they have a habit of running out of their human lab subjects. They think they 'die too easily' and with the stuff they're put through, the chemicals I mean, they _don't_ last long. _That's_ what I meant by _worse_. He would be better off dead than _that_."

The group nodded. They couldn't imagine many things worse than that.

"How is that even possible?" Willow asked. "I've heard of gene therapy for people, but that's not anything like what you're talking about."

Spike shrugged. "Something to do with the way the vampire-thing works: the vampire changes the body to adapt it to the demon's needs. They found something in that equation that works like super-glue to cut and paste whatever they want, changing only what they want to see changed."

"So how do we find them?" Buffy asked the group. She looked to Spike. "Where were their haunts, where do these mad scientists usually set-up?"

Spike shrugged sadly. "Sometimes they rent-out labs in big-name hospitals with forged government papers. They know the right keys to punch on the computer and they can get _absolutely_ anything... They always get a nice lot of rubber-rooms in most of the deals. They use 'em for the lab rats that manage to survive a transformation. Some of them have their souls, others are even more soulless than regular vampires. Every time they get new people, they cut town within a few hours with the last of what they need to re-locate." Spike looked around the sky. "Notice how it's only a few hours after sunset? Gives them plenty of time to move out and get on the road before the sun comes up. They probably packed everything up during the day; may have even sent a truck or two out with covered windows _before_ the sun went down."

"A big group on the move from a town this small shouldn't be that hard to find," Buffy commented.

"Yes, it will be. They're not stupid," he explained. "They've probably been spread out all over _this_ town for the past month, and we didn't even notice them until tonight. They might have even set up in a bigger town and ventured into the 'burbs for a bit of fresh blood... There were sixty or seventy lackeys, back in the day. By now they've probably branched out; have a few of the original scientists per gang with no less than forty or fifty followers, spreading themselves across the world to insure their work would continue even if a few of them were ever killed."

"I thought you said you just _met_ them. How do you know so much?" Dawn asked calmly.

Spike had a very guilty expression as he continued. "The '80s in the US were kinda boring for Drusilla and me, so we got in pretty deep with one bunch of them for a year or two. Branching off was their plan then; they had all ready split up the old gang once, positioning a branch in Europe. They laid everything out, all their plans, for the long-haul lackeys and said they might throw new demons into their _cocktail_ if they haven't gotten it right by a certain date... Eventually Dru got bored."

"But they let you leave?" Dawn asked. "I know _regular_ gangs don't like it very much when a person decides to leave, so what did they do?"

Spike nodded again, still very somber. "They tried to kill us, of course, but all it took to get away was busting a table's worth of beakers and burners. Weeks of work went up in smoke as the splashed chemicals helped spread the fire. Dru and I just strolled right out. They were all too busy just trying to keep the flames contained. I found out later that a few of the padded rooms got torched and I was _very_ glad for that."

Willow took a deep breath before asking the question. "What's the worst thing you saw in there? I think we should know so we can figure out what to expect in case something has been done to Xander."

Spike thought for a moment, his manner becoming even more grave as he remembered. "One guy," he began, shaking his head, "I don't really know what they did to him. His mind was totally gone. The way he'd sometimes beg to be changed back to a human kinda' reminded me of Angel's rantings when those Gypsies first restored his soul, but the other half of the time this guy was clawing at the doors and walls beggin' for them to bring him another person instead of the blood packets. He had -- what's that called? -- multiple personalities. _That _wasn't really the bad part."

The group seemed a little nervous about what could qualify as _worse_ than a genetically-induced psychosis.

Spike continued. "They must have added a little too much vampire or something' in the wrong spots 'cuse he had these twisted claws, shaggy hair, weird little horns sprouting out here and there near the hair-line, with olive-greenish skin with pure red eyes. His face... now that was the weirdest thing, he always looked completely like a human but with those horns and the sick--kinda skin... He didn't even have _fangs_... On top of that, he was so sensitive to the light that when they'd turn on the switch in the room he'd duck away from it and it would even singe his skin a little. Mind you, this light was from an everyday light bulb with nothin' special about it..." Spike looked as though it were a very painful memory. "I don't know how even one of _us_ could have made somethin' as troubled as that. We could drive people to a breaking point if we wanted to but... Poor guy... _That's_ why I was glad about the rooms being torched; he died in the fire."

The others seemed to relive the story right along with Spike.

Spike came out of the stupor, pushing his memory away to concentrate on the present. "By now I wouldn't be surprised if one of the branches had already done one of those mixes between vampires and _other_ demons... Then again, why do it for so long and then stop now? One thing is definite: no human that _The Blitz_ has taken with them ever shows up again the way they were before. This means Xander will be dead, regular vampire, or science fair project..."

"What do you mean by 'Shows up again the way they were'? Have people ever escaped being killed by them?" Willow asked.

"A few have, actually," Spike nodded, seeming to be in better spirits. "They're so confident in their security that they are sometimes too cocky. There's plenty of personnel inside their hideout, but at the entrances and the cells, there are only a few."

The others seemed a bit relieved by the news.

"The ones who _died _from the experiments were sometimes given something to make them look human again, and then rigged to look like drug overdoses. Sometimes they're human enough all ready that they don't bother giving the extra shot. This little set-up was a good reason for all the chemicals in the dead person's system. Besides, with people not knowing what a dissected, vampire-demon-_thing _looks like under the microscope, they'd see something that can't be identified and just attribute that to years of drug use, a new drug on the market, or some bad batch of a high traffic drug in the area. That would explain their disappearance from whatever city they left: they got mixed up in a bad crowd, addicted to drugs, and left town to satisfy their habit."

"What's the most likely to happen to Xander?" Buffy asked sadly, finally speaking after having remained silent for so long. "A meal, a vampire, or to be changed? And any chance that this _Blitz_ is _still _as lax with security?"

"All bad news..." he admitted right away. "They usually do the kidnap-and-run just after the scientists have whipped up a _new-and-improved_ batch of something'. While their new labs are being set-up by the drones, they get a little bored, so they start injections as soon as the first strap-in chair or table is taken off the truck. Sometimes, if the truck is big enough, they don't even wait to get there; they just have the chair bolted to the floor of an empty truck and do what they need to in the back while someone is driving... They always thought it 'lent greater entertainment for them when they finally got to the lab.' Basically, there's no need for an in-flight movie."

"How much time do you think we have before they start messing with him?" Dawn asked quickly.

He shrugged. "Depends on the mix and how far they're moving. If it's too new of a blend they'll wait until they could just lock their creation in a room. If it's been tested a few times, and don't think the person will turn totally into a beast, they might start it on the truck... Most of the time, when I traveled with them, they waited until they got to the lab, but, then again, not many of the patients had a very good survival rate back then. They'd say things were just too 'unpredictable' for them to risk anything in a truck, especially if they're traveling in the daylight."

Buffy turned to Willow. "Can you get on to the computer and track all of the hospitals that have new facilities being installed, remodeled, or rented out over the next two days?"

Willow nodded. "After that I could trace the funds and figure out where they're getting their money, and maybe expose them to cops or the companies or..."

Spike shook his head, interrupting. "That would be too dangerous for the police and since these vamps are state-of-the-art they have an advantage; any new or faster computer that comes out, they can afford to buy it."

"That's right," Dawn agreed. "They might notice _your_ hacking and hack you back, or notice you and leave the place we've tracked them to."

Buffy thought a moment and then agreed with Spike and Dawn. "Locating them is the main priority."

The group headed for the house.

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Wednesday 3:30 PM Buffy's

Willow had spent the entire night, and into the day, searching the records of hospitals throughout California, attempting to find information on any newly finished wings that have been built, or even the remodeling of older ones. There were several. She knew that the group had probably gotten farther away and were likely to be out of the state.

Buffy came into the kitchen. "Any luck?"

She looked up from the computer. "None that match _exactly_ the types of places Spike mentioned, but a few might be close enough to what they use."

"Good... I mean it's something..." Buffy said optimistically. "How far?"

"Santa Barbara's the closest one."

"One hundred miles?" she asked, not convinced it would be that easy.

She nodded. "But I doubt they would have stopped at just two hours away since they'll have figured out before too long that you're the Slayer... I was about to start a West Coast search for..."

"Yes," Buffy interrupted quickly, "whatever might find him... I have to go to a staff meeting at 4:30, and then I'll have enough paperwork to take up the entire evening, but if you find any more likely places, we'll hit the road, or even the air if it's that far..."

Willow looked as though she were about to start crying. "When you ran away, we looked for months, trying to find you... and _we_ never did, and you were just in Los Angeles. You had to come home yourself, and _Xander_ doesn't have that option."

"We'll find him; I know it," she assured quickly. "I _know _it."

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9:35 PM

Xander woke suddenly, feeling a sharp prick in his arm. He was laying on a medical bed, similar to the ones used to restrain mentally unstable patients: straps at the wrist, waist, and ankles. He still wore the cloths and shoes he had been in the day before but the right sleeve to his flannel shirt was slightly torn and rolled up to bare his arm.

An older-looking, pale man wearing a doctor's coat pulled the needle from Xander's arm.

As soon as Xander remembered what had happened, he tried to sit up, still groggy from whatever drug had been in his system. His hands, legs, and waist were strapped to the bed more securely then he had expected; he couldn't move at all, let alone get free.

After Xander had been knocked out, he was thrown into the back of a car, transferred to a truck, and then given a dose of strong sedatives. They'd just arrived at the lab and workers were bringing in boxes from the trucks and unloading equipment. Someone had yet to explain to Xander exactly what _was_ happening.

Xander continued to struggle, holding hopes that he may still get free.

"Stop that or you'll be given another sedative," warned a younger man who also had on a Doctor's lab coats. "It's not likely to set well with this shot he's just given you."

There suddenly came a pain in Xander's stomach and he obeyed the man. "What's happening?"

The older man answered with a laugh, unloading a set of beakers from a steel box half way across the large room. "You have three more shots coming before I will be telling you anything at all. It will be a little while before the forth shot, and then we'll start the experiments. I'd suggest you save your questions until the very end. Most of our subjects have a habit of overreacting and getting unduly upset. At this stage of our project, variables like that may alter the results." He began to write on some papers.

Xander felt as though he was going to be sick. His head was now pounding and the light above the table seemed to be getting brighter. The room began spinning a little, his eyes struggling to stay focused.

The younger doctor picked up a small light and came over to Xander. He held open Xander's eyes to test them with the light. He looked back to the older doctor. "Joseph," he called.

The older man looked up from his work.

"The color's changing already," he explained with a smile. Xander's eyes had become slightly tan and were slowly shifting to a golden shade of very light brown. "And the pulps are less responsive in the light."

"What are you talking about?" Xander demanded, trying to see the doctor's face clearly through the blinding light.

The younger man above him smiled again. "Oh, just the color of your eyes. The light bothers them? It's because they are beginning to change and soon..."

"Bernard!" Joseph interrupted in a scolding tone. "Remember the last person we explained things to before we were done? _Especially_ when we begin to..." He looked to Xander with shifty eyes. He knew that he must also be careful of what to say. "... Change our little recipe so drastically," he finished slyly. "We simply cannot risk it."

Bernard nodded with a shrug as though he didn't care if Xander ever found out what was going on. He casually went back to the work he had been doing with a microscope and a blood sample.

By then, Xander's ears had begun to ring. The buzz of the light above him, combined with the bustle of boxes and other machines throughout the building, were nearly deafening. He could feel, and hear, his heart working more furiously to pump his blood.

Bernard stood again, picked up an empty needle, and jabbed it into Xander's arm, drawing some blood.

"Didn't you say _experiments_ wouldn't start until after three more shots?" Xander asked quietly, hurting his own ears with the sound of his voice.

Bernard gave another chuckle as he removed the needle. "This is something that _must_ be done, not _really_ an experiment." He looked Xander right in the eyes. "You will know when the _experiments _have started." Silently, he went back to his work station.

Xander looked around the lab at all of the pale men moving boxes around, and setting things up as though they'd been arranging things in that same way for years.

Suddenly, a steel cage came rolling in with two workers on either side.

Inside the cage sat a man in his mid-twenties; all four limbs were chained to the floor. His fingernails were very long and sharp, his skin was a sickly shade of green, his eyes were blood-red, and his shaggy dark hair was just past his shoulders. His shirt and pants, once part of an expensive business suit, were torn a little and badly stained by blood and dirt.

"If I have to go into _one_ more padded room I swear I'll tare out all your throats," the prisoner threatened. As he spoke, it allowed a show of his long fangs.

Joseph got up and followed the cage as they turned down a hall. "Don't worry, Lee, we won't be taking you with us to the next location. Alexander will be taking your place... You saw him in the other room on the bed, just now, and..." Joseph followed the cage through the door which closed behind him before Xander could hear the end of the sentence.

"Don't mind them," Bernard suggested, noticing that Xander had been watching what was being brought in. "He was just another patient. You're likely to meet the other three later tonight. They are, for the most part, a little more civil than Lee."

"Am I the only human here? Are there _any_ others?" Xander asked quietly, knowing that everyone was too pale to just be ill or overworked. His voice was beginning to fade, and his throat hurt.

First, Bernard laughed at the question because he knew Xander wasn't exactly human anymore. After a moment he became a little more serious and shook his head. "As snacks in another room; none in here. This is exclusively for Vampires." He looked into his microscope. "And those who are like you: Lee, Stephen, Olivia and Tess."

One of the workers took a folded red, white, and black sheet out of a box. He proceeded to climb onto the empty counter and nail the sheet onto the wall above a row of refrigeration units. It was an antique Nazi banner .

"You're Nazis?" Xander asked nervously, trying to make his voice work through the pain. His throat was on fire; it felt like he'd just swallowed a cup of jalapeno peppers. Now his worst nightmares _were_ truly coming true: _Nazis_ followers combined with being changed into some sort of science experiment. Then, on top of everything else, he didn't even know how much longer he'd have a voice to scream with.

Bernard looked up. "I suppose Joseph and I have lost our accents. We have been in America for nearly half a century. The two of us were in The Party at one time. Along with twenty-three other associates, we were in charge of researching genetic mutations and allowed to experiment as we wished on human subjects. Our objective was to alter human genetic structures in order to perfect the human race and eliminate disease. We were all changed into vampires on the same evening and together agreed that we should use our talents to improve our new race. Most of our associates are still living in Europe, though a few have spread to other continents. The Vampires who are in the building just work for us. We pay them very well so they are willing to do most anything for us." He went back to his work.

Xander looked to Bernard. "Are you going to change me into something like Lee? Is he some sort of demon?" His voice couldn't stretch beyond a raspy whisper.

Bernard looked to Xander seriously. "Joseph does not want me to say _exactly _what is going to happen. You will be told by _him_, when _he_ chooses to do so, and only as completely as _he_ chooses. You must also keep in mind that even after we have administered each shot, any _changes_ might not be complete or predictable. We are scientists _trying _to find the answers because we do not have all of the answers yet."

Xander was becoming thirsty and he hadn't eaten in more then a day. "Can I get a meal? Or at least some water?"

He looked to Xander again. "Assuming we have predicted correctly, the food will make you sick. This should to be true from now on, so don't think us inhumane for not supplying you with room service. I can hear that you are beginning to loose your voice. This should only be temporary, but, if you speak, it will only become more painful." Bernard turned back to his work.

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Thursday 1:05 AM - The Lab

For hours Xander lay quietly watching the men as they brought in boxes. His throat still burned a little and to say more then a few words at a whisper was torture. Just laying there quietly allowed the pain to fade a bit. The workers had brought in three more caged people. The only way to rate their drastically different behavior was by assuming which ones had souls and which did not.

All of them looked a little more, or a little less, like a human.

One girl had fangs, claws, and slightly pale skin but by the way she was cowering away from everyone, she also had a soul. Her shoulder length white-blonde hair was matted and her blue jeans and black shirt were dusty from sitting on so many floors.

Another man had a more human color to his skin than Lee had had, and there were no apparent claws or fangs. The shirt and pants he wore seemed like a very worn sheriff's uniform whose insignias had been ripped of worn off. His eyes were yellow, but nothing else suggested that he was a monster. The way he was tearing at his chains and growling like an animal either meant he had no soul, or that he was refusing to accept being a prisoner.

The last, a woman, looked to be in the exact same condition as Lee, but, as the second man, had a more human tone to her skin. The bottom of her long back dress was shredded from being caught under her feet so often. Her dark curly hair fell into her face as she began to incoherently muttering to herself and rock back and forth; she either had a soul or some sort of mental disorder.

In the other room he could hear most of what Joseph and Bernard were saying as long as he concentrated on only their voices.

"Why do we change our _recipe_, as you called it, now after so many years dealing only with Vampiric alterations? With that boy, we won't know if..."

"It's _my_ decision," Joseph interrupted, "and our previous endeavors haven't _yet_ been successful. We might make this one _better_ than any Vampire could be. I have been calculating what is required to achieve this goal for many months. I have already acquired the ingredients and all other supplies, so this is what we will be working on for now."

Xander heard a door slam.

Joseph had come back in and began supervising the movement of the remaining crates.

Xander still felt sick to his stomach, but now he was much hungrier than he had been. His ears had stopped ringing and his heart was pounding more slowly. The light directly above him had been turned off within twenty minutes of his compliance with their instructions. The room itself still seemed bright, but now at least he wasn't being baked by a spot light.

Joseph left the workers and went over to an isolated beaker on the table. He picked up the beaker, held it up to the light, and swirled it. Apparently satisfied with the mixture, he picked up an empty needle and filled it with the murky, brown liquid before coming back over to Xander.

"What will this one do?" he managed to voice, wanting to know what effects would happen with the second shot.

Joseph didn't answer. He set down the needle on a table near Xander and picked up the small flash light again, testing Xander's eyes as Bernard had after the first injection.

Xander's pupils didn't react at all to the light, remaining almost fully dilated.

Bernard joined Joseph. "It looks like he _is_ ready for the shot. This is a more reasonable span of time than was allotted our last patient." He looked to Joseph. "If _this _process will be at all the same as it used to be."

Joseph nodded and picked up the needle, slowly giving the second injection to Xander. "It is, but hopefully _this _serum will bring about better results."

Before the needle was removed, Xander could feel the effects: his skin was tingling and his heart began beating so quickly that it was painful.

Joseph pulled out the needle.

Xander made his hands into fists and casually attempted to break the restraints. His heart slowed again, this time more quickly than it had after the first shot.

"Stop that," Bernard nagged from next to a stack of empty boxes.

Xander gave up the struggle.

Joseph went back over to the same work station and opened the refrigerator, taking out another small bottle. This was filled with a red liquid. He quickly filled another, empty needle with the liquid and came back to Xander.

"Another? So soon?" Xander asked in a small voice, the pain in his throat subsiding with the effects of the second substance.

Joseph jabbed the needle into Xander's arm and, this time, gave the injection quickly.

Bernard and Joseph both took a few steps back as though expecting something disastrous to happen.

It took a moment for Xander to tell what was happening. Instead of his heart speeding up, he felt it steadily slowing. The time between beats became longer and longer, each silence spreading an icy pain through all of the muscles in his body. As the time between beats lengthened, so did the intensity of the cold and pain.

Xander had begun to squirm, panicking. The pain was becoming too unbearable to just lay there and endure. It felt like he couldn't get in enough air to keep his heart pumping. After a few more moments of the slowing, his sight began to cloud until he lost consciousness.

After he stopped moving, each scientist took a sample of Xander's blood in their own needles for testing. Bernard and Joseph went back to the stations they had been working at before administering the third shots. They each began examining the samples as though nothing out-of-the-ordinary had just happened.

"He should be awake by sunset. Then I shall give him the final shot," Joseph explained.

"If he _does not _wake by sunset, shall we dispose of the body in the usual manner?" Bernard asked in a bored voice, not looking up from his papers.

Joseph gave a slight nod. "Sounds reasonable. We can always find a replacement."

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6:30 PM - Sunset - Buffy's house

Willow had spent the rest of the previous day and all through the night searching for a lead. She hadn't slept for days. She'd looked through renting agencies, medical corporations, and real estate companies all along the West Coast. At sunrise she had been advised by a school-going Dawn to rest during the day and start back up in the afternoon or evening. Taking the advise, Willow had slept until 3:30 when Dawn arrived home. This allowed the cycle of research to begin again.

Dawn and Willow sat at the kitchen table together: Dawn completing school work, and Willow continuing with the search for the building. There was no way for the others to really help Willow since she was using the only computer. The others continued as normally as they could, pushing aside their worry.

Buffy came through the front door and went directly into the kitchen to see the others. "Sorry I couldn't get here faster; I had a bunch of students with after-school appointments... Any luck finding him?"

Willow looked up from the screen, her eyes still slightly blurry from lack of sleep. "Nothing solid." She wearily looked back to the screen.

Spike came up from the basement, closing the door behind him, and then joined the others in the kitchen.

"She's mainly been searching for the building," Dawn explained for Willow, looking up from her homework. "Tonight she'll take a break from the addresses to look for missing persons, overdoses, and suicides."

Buffy nodded slowly. "With so many henchmen, there's likely to be a rise in the body count of an area. That might narrow it down to search for the building."

Willow sat like a statue looking that the screen. "I'd actually be looking for _Xander's_ murder."

"I'm no genius with a computer, but I could give it a go," Spike offered. "You need more sleep."

"No," Willow said quickly, eyes defiantly shifting to the screen again. "I can do this."

Buffy tilted her head in concern, looking at Willow more carefully. She could see the glazed stare, bags under the eyes, and pale complexion. "I know you didn't eat much of what I cooked last night, but have you had a decent meal _today_?"

Willow looked up and shook her head a little. "I haven't been hungry... I'm just too worried about Xander." Her eyes drifted from the screen a little and she began to slouch, finally breaking down into tears.

Buffy came to her quickly and gave her a hug. "I said this before, but we _will_ find him... We can track him down..."

"Definitely," Spike backed. "They're just chemists, in no way magical and not even all that whitty. They're as vulnerable as any human when they insist on renting and movin' 'round so much like they _were_ regular people."

"I've even tried a locator spell, but couldn't narrow it down to anything closer than this country. By now anything could have happened to him," she sobbed. "He might not even be human anymore, or he might be dead, or he might..." Willow couldn't speak anymore.

"You need to eat some dinner," Buffy continued, doing her best to mask her worry. "Spike offered to keep going with the computer..."

Willow gave a little sniffle and backed away from Buffy, wiping her eyes. "It's not a problem... I can handle it..." She re-positioned her hands and resumed the search.

Buffy and Dawn both gave her hopeful smiles.

"I'll make some coffee," Dawn volunteered, getting up to do the task.

"No," Spike said to Dawn. "I'll do that; you finish your lessons."

Dawn gave a groan and sat back down. She was tired of algebra, but still had a history report to look forward to _after _the math.

"And I'll start dinner," Buffy continued, following towards the stove.

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10:30 PM -- Tacoma, Washington in an alley

Three police cars, a fire truck, a coroner's van, a news van, and an ambulance had all managed to cram into the narrow alley to examine the crime scene.

The dead man didn't fit the profile of a drug user; he seemed well kempt with clean hair and he'd had a shave at least once in the last two days. There were no previous track-lines from drug use, but several more recent injections were evident. The whites of his eyes were red, possibly caused by trauma to the head, and no identification, cash, or credit cards were found in his wallet. The man was dead from an apparent overdose of Special-K; a syringe and glass bottle of the drug had been found next to the body.

There were no witnesses but the homicide detective questioned the person who found the body. A medical examiner snapped pictures of the corpse for evidence.

Xander heard a click in the distance, as though part of a dream, and then another click within a few seconds... Then he could hear people's voices.

The photographer was finished with the role of film and began rewinding it in the camera. He went to the lead detective. "I'm all done here. I'll head back to the station and get this developed."

Xander finally began to wake, happy to feel his heart beating at a normal pace... He opened his eyes and sat up as best he could. His head was pounding and his vision was blurred. Rubbing his eyes, all the voices around him fell silent. He looked around, able to see the crowd more clearly.

Everyone stared in shock at the man who had been dead only moments ago.

"Where…?" Xander began a little too loudly. His voice was working perfectly again. "Where am I?"

"You..." the detective began, as though about to faint. "You were dead... You've been dead for hours... This isn't possible."

He looked down at the cement he had been laying on, frightened to see an outline of his own body drawn in chalk around where he lie. Quickly, in a panic, he jumped up and put his back to the brick wall of the alley. "What happened?"

One of the paramedics stared at him as the others were doing, but then blinked a few times as though waking. "You need to go to a hospital."

Xander looked at his pale hands; it hadn't been a dream. He didn't feel any sort of need to hurt anyone, so he decided that he must still have a conscience and could trust himself _not_ to hurt any of the people nearby. He looked back at the paramedic and shook his head. "I can't... Not to a hospital... What city am I in?"

The detective snapped out of an apparent trance he'd fallen into after the last words he'd spoken. "You can't leave yet, anyway. You have to answer some questions."

Xander rubbed his eyes again, shaking his head. He'd been in some sort of medical laboratory, so he couldn't risk meeting the group again at the hospital. He was also worried about what the Detective might ask and ultimately decide.

The Detective approached him slowly.

"Stay away from me," Xander said, flattening his hands and back against the wall. Even if he _trusted_ himself, he still knew what had been done to him.

The Detective stopped.

The crowd gasped and began quietly chattering.

Xander could feel the bricks becoming warmer and a little soft. He pulled away from the wall, turning to see what his hands had been sinking into.

There was smoke rising from two hand-print sized, melted holes in the bricks at the exact place where Xander had rested his palms.

"Buddy, I think you'd better go with the Detective," a middle-aged, uniformed Officer told him. Taking a few steps towards him, he placed a hand on the gun at his belt.

Xander whirled around again to look at the people. "Stay away from me."

The Officer unsnapped the clasp that secured his gun in its holster and then slowly slid the weapon free. Keeping it low and un-aimed, he continued towards Xander. "Keep your hands where we..."

Xander ran as fast as he could for the end of the alley.

The Officer aimed and fired once.

The Detective charged the Officer. "Hold your fire! The man hasn't done anything wrong!"

It was too late; Xander was hit once in the right arm, near the shoulder. Unphased, he clasped a hand over the wound and kept going, barreling through the crowd with ease.

The Detective turned and followed at a run to catch up with Xander. "I don't want_ any _back-up! _NONE! _I'm just gonna talk to him!" he yelled over his shoulder to all of the Officers at the crime scene. As he passed the ambulance, he grabbed a small, pre-packaged kit containing a few bandages and antiseptic wipes. He slipped it into his suit pocket as he ran, trying to catch up with the man.

Everyone left behind was still in shock, not really sure what to do now that their homicide victim had miraculously come back to life.

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10:55 PM

Xander was still running as fast as he could, which was at least twice as fast as he ever had before. The pain in his arm was also more powerful than he was accustom.

The Detective was keeping up almost effortlessly; he was young and in very good shape. "Buddy... Wait up... I just want to talk to you! Besides, you need a Doctor!"

"Had plenty of those lately," Xander called back, becoming a little dizzy. There was a surprisingly large amount of blood coming from his arm. "I don't think they like me anymore."

"Why do you say that?" the Detective asked, becoming a little short of breath.

Both of their paces had slowed significantly, and Xander, not knowing really _where_ to run, continued down the level sidewalk. He saw a park several blocks in the distance and hoped he could make it that far and lose the trailing policeman by ducking through the dense shrubs.

"I'm not a mental patient if that's what you're thinking," Xander replied, panting a little.

"I never said you were." Now, he was very out of breath and hoped that the man would slow down a little more or just give up and talk. "We can talk just as easily, even more actually, if you _just stop running_."

Xander kept going, leaving a trail of blood droplets behind.

"Come on, Guy... Stop before you loose any more blood," he panted. "If you won't to go a hospital... at least let me wrap up your arm. You're _not_ under arrest..."

"Why do you want to talk to me," Xander called, also becoming a little short of breath. The pain in his arm was making his heart practically pound out of his chest. If he _was_ part vampire and demon now, he wasn't sure how long it would be before he got too tired to run _or_ when the bleeding_ would_ stop.

By now both had a pace just slower than a brisk jog, and they were still three blocks from the park.

The detective was panting every few words. "Right now, I just want to fix up your arm... I don't want you... to wind up dead again... because of some old, trigger-happy beat cop... who can't score high enough on a simple test... to get the promotion to Detective!"

Xander stopped running, doubling over to catch his breath.

The Detective caught up with him and stopped too, panting more heavily than Xander. "I'm Detective Andy Thomas."

"Well, Andy," Xander began, able to breath much more easily. He flinched as he took his blood drenched hand off the gory wound. "What do you do for a gunshot?"

Andy panted a few times before speaking. "There's a bathroom in the park; it has running water to clean the wound... I grabbed some stuff to cover it, which should stop the bleeding. The bullet could have shattered the bone, so you _do_ need to get it looked at eventually."

Xander shook his head, then turned to walk towards the park, placing his left hand back over the torn skin. He suddenly felt as though he hadn't been running at all that night and knew that after Andy bandaged him up, it wouldn't be hard to backtrack to the cheap hotel he'd seen while running.

Andy caught up at his side, more fatigued. "You must be in pretty good shape."

Xander gave a small laugh. "That trail of blood tells a different story... How much farther?"

They had crossed the street and were at the edge of the park.

"Not..." Andy began, but was interrupted by Xander tripping.

Xander's legs gave out and he fell to the ground, instinctively putting both hand out to brace for the fall. When he hit the grass, he let out a call of pain; his arm was too injured to support the weigh of the fall without terrible throbbing. Xander rolled to his back, wincing again and holding tightly to the arm.

Andy stopped and helped to pull Xander up by his good arm. "You all right?"

"Peachy," Xander said with a false, pain-filled chuckle. He regained his footing and they began again.

"Just over there," Andy said, pointing to a small building only about twenty feet away. "You haven't mentioned your name."

"Xander Harris," he answered, almost stumbling again.

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11:15 PM

They entered the restroom. There was a row of urinals and stalls, and in front of them was a line of sinks with mirrors above them. They went directly to the sinks.

Xander went up to the mirror and looked in, glad to find his reflected face staring back.

Andy started the water and grabbed some paper towels.

Xander kept staring at his face, noticing hardly any change. His face was as pale as his hands, and his eyes were a unique shade of golden-brown with a little bit of blood red near the edge of his pupils.

"Take off that flannel shirt if you can, then give me your arm," Andy requested. "After I put on the bandages you can rinse out some of the blood and put it back on to hide the injury."

Xander turned his attention back to his arm and did as he was instructed. Twisting around and grimacing the whole time, he managed to slide off the flannel shirt he had been wearing, revealing the gaping, bloody shreds of skin that were left of his upper arm. He hoped that being a vampire _thing_ meant the wound would heal on its own before he was found by the other vampires. He extended his arm for Andy.

Andy took hold of it carefully and began cleaning the blood away with the wet paper towel.

Xander turned back to the mirror, trying to ignore the pain shooting through his arm every time the wet paper touched it. He opened his mouth a little, examining his teeth. He was happy to see that they were exactly the same as they usually were.

"Did you get something new in there?"

"What?" Xander asked, confused by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Caps or something. You're acting like your teeth should be different." Andy wrung out the bloody towel and saturated it with fresh running water. "Your cloths don't seem right for the rest of the look... Contacts like those and such pale skin usually means you'd be wearing chains, spikes, piercing everywhere, and a lot of black clothing."

Xander didn't answer; he wasn't sure how to respond. A sharp pain stabbed him in the stomach. He wrapped his uninjured arm around his middle, hoping the pressure would relax the tarring sensation.

"Are you going to be sick?"

Xander shook his head. Of all the pain he'd felt from the injections, the only one that hadn't really gone away was the ache in his stomach. He hoped that one vampire trait he _hadn't_ inherited was the need for blood. He all ready knew that the sun was very likely to hurt him; even the weak, artificial light in the lab had seared his eyes. "I just haven't eaten in a while."

"How long?"

"What day is it?"

"Thursday." He threw the towel away and took the package of bandages and wipes out of his pocket. He started cleaning the wound with the antiseptic-soaked sheets.

"Then two days or so." The pain stabbed him again.

"You homeless?" he asked casually.

Xander shook his head. "I have a nice apartment, a good-paying job in construction, and amazing friends... That is, until Tuesday night when I was kidnapped from Southern California, and you could say that _they_ weren't really into people-friendly conditions."

Andy was very surprised. "Do you know why they took you?"

Xander shook his head again. "If I wind up on the news or something, they'll be after me again... But my friends will probably catch the news just as fast..."

Most of the blood was cleaned away so Andy began to remove the role of bandage from the baggie. He discovered gauze had been rolled into the center of the bandages, so he began to sort out the squares. "Do you know who they were or where they took you?"

Xander shook his head again. "A hospital; some sort of a lab. I was strapped to a bed the entire time, so I didn't see enough to identify the building."

Andy placed the gauze over the hole and placed the bandage over it, wrapping the injury as he'd been taught in so many of the required first-aid classes. "The bullet passed all the way through, and it's not as serious I thought it was..." Continuing to wrap, he started the questions again. "Is that how you ended up in the alley? The kidnappers?"

"I don't really know how I got there," Xander answered. He was trying to be honest with the detective, but knew he couldn't tell much of the truth. "They gave me some sort of an injection, then I passed out and woke up in the alley."

Andy had finished wrapping up the bloody hole and released Xander's arm. "You should change the bandage again in the morning to prevent infection, and eat something sweet to rebuild your blood." He stuffed the remaining supplies back into the baggie and handed it to Xander.

Xander nodded and slipped it into his pants pocket. He didn't know if he _could_ get an infection _or_ if he could still eat food of _any_ sort. "Thank you." He _did_ know that his wallet was gone which meant no place to stay or any money to buy food, even if he still needed it.

"Your wallet is in a small bag of evidence, but there was no cash, cards, or ID... If you want it back anyway, you'll have to tell me where you're staying... There's a bank about two blocks from here that opens at seven."

Xander looked at the mirror, putting his left hand lightly over the reflection of his face, covering it almost entirely.

Andy cleared his throat a little, unsure of how to ask a slightly stupid question. "How... What did you do to that wall? I-I know you didn't dump a weapon when you were running, and you didn't have anything up your sleeves (literally)... But somehow you burnt through those bricks..."

Xander wasn't paying attention. "I wish I knew why they took _me_ of all people in my town to use as their _magnificent_ _little lab-rat_..." Xander could feel his anger finally rising. Until then, he'd just been frightened, but now he was furious.

"Xander?" Andy asked, really stumped over what the answer could be. He suddenly realized what was wrong: Xander was finally understanding what sort of violation a kidnapping is and feeling the anger that came with it. "Calm down; someone will catch the guys; might even be _me_ if you tell me enough about them. This was _attempted_ murder so it might still fall into my jurisdiction."

Xander took a breath, trying to lose the feeling. His hand against the mirror felt very warm and before he realized what had happened, his hand was sinking through the glass.

"What the...?" Andy asked, jumping away several steps, stopping only when he'd reached the adjacent wall.

Xander pulled his hand away, the liquefied glass and metal dribbled into the sink, revealing the blackened wall behind.

"Answer me!" Andy demanded, shaking a little in shock. "How are you doing that?"

He wasn't sure himself, but answered calmly and truthfully. "One day I got the same type of information overload. All I was trying to do then was check a book out from my school library so I wouldn't flunk math... See where it got me?" Xander was a little frightened suddenly when he realized that he could hear Andy's panicked heart pounding from so many feet away. "If you want to take that risk, then I'll answer whatever questions you ask me."

Andy didn't move, surprised by the answer. After a moment, he nodded.

"A couple blocks back I saw an open coffee shop," Xander began to suggest, "unless you know a better place…?"

Andy shook his head. "The Java House will be fine."

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11:45 PM Java House

Xander and Andy sat down at a table. Andy ordered coffee and Xander said he'd _try some water_ _first_.

"Can I use your phone?" Xander asked.

"Only after we're done and I like the explanation," Andy decided.

"All right. Where do you want me to start?" Xander paused a moment.

The waitress brought the drinks and left quickly.

Xander continued, "How 'bout the basics?"

He nodded. "I'd say this was completely crazy, but mirrors and brick walls don't melt everyday, and homicide cases _never_ end because the victim gets up and runs away."

Xander apprehensively took a sip of water, worried that it _would _do something to him as one of the scientists warned... He felt fine...much better, in fact. "Vampires, demons, and most other creepy things really exist."

Andy gave a smile. "I had a feeling it was going to be something like that." He took a sip of the coffee. "And what was it that landed you in your current dilemma?"

"Like I said: I was in the high school library. A new girl comes in and starts ranting all sorts of weird stuff to the new librarian..." Xander continued to explain everything about his life and friends as clearly as he could.

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Friday 12:05 AM, Buffy's House

"Oh my God!" Willow cried out in horror, staring at her computer screen, Anya equally shocked at her side.

"Come in here!" Anya called to the others, visibly shaken.

Buffy, Spike, and Dawn had all been in the living room discussing what they might do when the scientists had been located, but came back to the kitchen quickly.

"What is it?" Buffy asked urgently as they all gathered around Willow's computer, looking to the screen.

A video file was open in one side of the screen. A news article surrounded the footage.

Willow pressed the play icon, very upset about what she had just seen and was about to see again.

A female reporter stood just behind a yellow band of police tape in an alley at night. Lights were scattered around, shining on the pavement within the crime scene. The footage began at the end of the regular newscast.

"... And police have no suspects so far. This is..."

Gasps from left and right interrupted the reporter before she could say her name.

She turned around, staring in shock.

The cameraman ran closer to the yellow ribbon and zoomed into the activity, his camera focusing quickly.

The man laying within the chalk outline was sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Buffy and Dawn both gave gasps of their own because it was _Xander_.

Xander jumped up... The audio wasn't good enough to pick up what Xander was saying, but his back and hands were against the wall. He jumped away from the wall, looking back to where he had been leaning.

The camera picked up the glow of two melting holes in the bricks.

A policeman shouted something at him, but Xander ran. He was shot once in the arm but kept going. A man in a suit with a long coat clearly shouted that he was just going to question Xander and then the man chased after him… The video ended.

Buffy put her hand to her mouth, speechless.

"I guess that answers if he's been changed," Dawn began sadly.

"And not just into a Vampire; vamps can't melt things like that unless they know a bit of magic," Spike finished.

"He'll probably call as soon as he can..." Willow said hopefully.

"If he's still the Xander we knew," Anya corrected. "Not all demons are so considerate."

Dawn nodded. "That footage was from over an hour ago. Besides, Spike said some of them go nuts or turn out evil."

Spike gave a nod, but Buffy shook her head.

"We're going to that city, and we'll find him," Buffy said. "Even if he's not _what_ he was, he'll be our friend until we know anything for sure..."

Willow began to access an airline's website. "I'll order us tickets."

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12:25 AM Java House

"...And that's when I woke up in the alley," Xander finished, finally having another sip of water.

Andy's jaw was a little open and he hadn't had much more of his coffee.

"Can I use your phone now?"

Andy snapped out of his daze, not saying anything as he reached into his coat and gave Xander the cellular phone.

"Thanks," Xander said, taking it and quickly dialing.

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12:30 AM Buffy's House

Willow had finished the reservation and Anya and Dawn waited at the table as Spike and Buffy went to prepare any weapons that could be smuggled through the check-baggage at an airport...

"Ring... Ring..." the phone began.

Willow jumped up and answered the phone, confident that it would be Xander. "Hello?" Willow called into the receiver.

"Willow? It's me; I'm all right," Xander assured quickly.

"Oh, God!" Willow shouted, waking completely despite how exhausted she'd been from searching and crying. She lowered the mouthpiece and announced loudly to the house, "Xander's on the phone!"

Buffy and Spike came in from the living room and Anya and Dawn listened eagerly from the table.

Willow turned her attention back to Xander. "I'm putting you on the speaker." She pressed a button and hung up the phone. "We saw some video of you on a news website; are you all right? Spike knows about that gang, so we sort of know what's happened to you."

"I'm safe for now, I think, and in a coffee place with a police detective." Xander looked up at Andy. "I guess that if it made it on the net, something is on the local news and the Vampires will start looking for me."

Andy was staring at his coffee, still overwhelmed by the information.

Xander looked back at the table and kept his voice as low as possible so as to not alarm the few other people in the place. "They changed me into some sort of Demon!"

"I told you, we know about that. Spike worked for them about twenty years ago and told us what they do to people," Willow explained as calmly as she could. "And we..."

"Did you know they managed to _kill me_! The _stopping my heart_ kind of kill!" he interrupted frantically. "That's why I was in the alley in the first place; I was a homicide case! The detective mentioned it looked like an overdose and robbery..."

Buffy chimed in. "If they think they've really killed a patient, then they cover up the murder by making it look like a _different _type of death, especially due to a drug overdose."

They all seemed a little frightened about what could have changed in him to make him _dead_.

This time Dawn continued. "How did they _change_ you? Spike warned us that if they make mistakes..." She wasn't sure how to put it. "What they do can make people crazy and nothing like the way they were before the..."

"Not much is different, as far as I can tell, except for the burning through walls with hands," Xander interrupted, realizing exactly what type of information they wanted. He hoped to phrase it so the people who had been seated nearer to them after the _monster_ conversation wouldn't understand what he was really talking about. "Pale skin, weird colored eyes, lights are brighter, and sounds are a louder... I woke up just a little while ago so I don't know how much else. According to both of the science-vamps, it would take four shots to get the results they wanted, but they only gave me three before dumping me. On top of that, the younger-looking one let it slip that I might not be _done_ changing after _any _of the shots I've been given." He gave a small laugh and continued more quietly. "So far people aren't staring too much so I bet I look a lot better than the four other creations I spotted there."

"Do you have a pulse?" Anya asked bluntly.

Xander thought on the answer for a moment. He _had_ died for some amount of time, but woke up with a beating heart. "Yes and it's not like there's been a slaughter yet so I'm pretty sure that means there's a soul somewhere in here, too."

"Do you know _what_ they put in you?" Willow continued. "We realize from the burning things that there's another demon besides vampire. _Could _there be any others, too, or is it something else that causes it?"

"Not a clue. The two scientists were talking to each other and I think they were getting at the _not just vampire in the mix_ sort of a thing."

"And are you on a liquid diet, or does food still set-well with you?" Spike finally asked.

There was a moment of silence. Xander wasn't sure, especially after what he was told about food making him sick. The water seemed to be setting well enough with him, but he had yet to try eating anything. "I don't know," he admitted quietly.

"Then you know you shouldn't be offended if we're cautious," Willow reminded.

"I know," Xander said with a sigh.

"I've booked a flight and we'll all be out there before sunrise..." Willow continued. "Oh... Can you..."

"Won't know until the sun comes up," he interrupted, knowing she's ask about his tolerance for sunlight. "And even then, I won't be too eager to test it with a stroll through the local park."

"Where will you be after the coffee shop?" Willow asked.

"I don't know, but check Dawn's cell phone messages when you get off the plane; by then I'll have a room of some sort..."

"We saw a man in a suit chase after you. Is that the Detective you're with now? Did you tell him anything?" Buffy asked.

"I told the Detective _everything_. He bandaged my arm up... You saw that I got shot?"

"Yeah, 'saw it on the video..." Spike replied.

"And what do you mean by _everything_?" Anya continued.

"He said he _wanted_ to know. After a mirror and a brick wall were melted in front of the poor guy, there wasn't any other way to explain it. Besides, I don't have any money, ID, or _anything_ else with me so I figured that the more he knew about the situation the more he might be willing to help me survive it…"

The group was a little startled about _the big secret_ being shared with someone the entire group didn't know _really_ well.

"I guess I'll see you when you guys get here," Xander finally said.

"All right..." Buffy said.

Willow almost didn't want to say good bye. She'd spent so much time searching for him just so she could hear his voice again, but now it was time to say _good bye_. "Good luck," she managed to say.

"Thanks. Bye." Xander pressed a button and handed the phone back to Andy.

Willow slowly pressed the button.

"I told you we'd find him... Technically he _phoned_ to tell us where he was after we'd pin-pointed the city, so the result is the same," Buffy said cheerfully.

"So when is the flight, again?" Dawn asked.

Buffy looked to Dawn. "You still have school tomorrow."

"I've technically known Xander for a larger percentage of my life than you have," Dawn argued logically. "So I have as much of a right to go as either of you... Besides, tomorrow's the Friday before the _huge_ winter vacation. _So_ many kids are cutting classes anyway that you know teachers won't do much."

"You should join the debate team," Willow said, still close to tears over the situation but managing to give a weak smile. "I already ordered tickets for _all_ of us," she looked to Spike with a smile, "even you because we'll be off the plane and with Xander before sunrise."

"Me, too?" Anya asked hopefully, used to felling left out.

"You, too," Willow answered her.

Buffy nodded and looked to Dawn. "Then you can go, too. I'll call us in sick at some point tomorrow morning, since it's too late to call anyone tonight."

Willow sat back down in front of the computer and connected to the internet again. "We have a few minutes before we have to leave for the flight, but I want to find what sort of demon burns things the way Xander did in that video."

"Sounds good; the rest of us will start with a few books, and hopefully that nifty website Cordelia gave you way-back-when will get something," Buffy commented.

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12:40 AM Java House

Andy slid the phone back into his pocket.

"Thank you. My friends will be here before sunrise," Xander explained, unconsciously itching at his bandage.

"Careful or it might start bleeding again," Andy warned quietly, drinking some of his lukewarm coffee.

His arm felt as though it hadn't even been injured at all. "Just in case I'm wrong, I don't want to gross anyone out so I'll be right back." Xander got up and headed for the restroom.

Andy was about to stop him, but decided instead to let Xander do whatever it is he wanted to.

Xander went over to the sink and carefully unwrapped the bandage...

The skin underneath was an irritated shade of reddish-pink, but _no_ sign of the bullet wound remained; not even a scar.

Xander threw the bandage into the trash and went back to the table.

Andy's jaw dropped when he saw the undamaged skin exposed again.

Xander sat down quietly.

"But... but..." Andy began to stammer, staring at the bleaching skin that looked more like ground beef just an hour earlier.

"I know," Xander said quickly at a whisper. "I wasn't expecting it either..."

"Maybe we should have talked in a bar instead," Andy commented, taking a long drink of the coffee as though it _were _something stronger.

Xander suddenly wrapped an arm around his stomach with a wince, closing his eyes as a severe pain ripped through his entire torso.

"You all right?" Andy asked. "You're not going all _monster_ on me, are you?"

Xander opened his eyes and shook his head as the pain lessened, but refused to go away. "We've covered that I have no cash, but if you could spot me for a night in a room somewhere, I'll pay you back when my friends get here."

Andy gave a nod, flagged down the waitress and asked for the bill. He turned back to Xander. "That'll be fine. Pay be back whenever you're able. Do you want to stay in town, or go into a suburb?"

Xander gave another small gasp of pain. "Out of town is my only request. Other than that, I'm not picky."

"Do you need anything before we go?" Andy asked. "Some food maybe? You haven't actually eaten in days and maybe you're not _monster_ enough for a turkey sandwich to do any harm?"

Xander nodded a little. "When my friends get here, they can get me what I _think _I need..." He could clearly hear Andy's heart beating at a slightly accelerated rate. Xander knew that he'd be fooling himself if he thought he was part _vampire_ and didn't need blood. "…But having a sandwich handy wouldn't hurt in case I'm wrong."

The waitress returned with the receipt.

Andy turned to her. "Can I get a turkey sandwich to-go, please? And if it's not too much trouble, could you hurry?"

She nodded and disappeared again into the kitchen to place the order.

Xander winced again, closing his eyes as he had before. He could suddenly feel the canine teeth in his mouth becoming longer and sharper, and for the first time he truly felt the urge to attack someone. He opened his eyes again, prepared for Andy's reaction. "You're taking this better then I thought you would."

Andy let out a little gasp. Xander's golden brown eyes were now bright red, and, in addition, two newly sprouted fangs were showing more clearly than before. He hid his panic as quickly as he could, trying to act as though what he was seeing was nothing out of the ordinary. "I-I might say the same about you. All these years fighting against demons to suddenly find yourself turned into one," he stammered. Andy laid down some money with a nice tip. "Can you make yourself look normal again or should we go?"

The waitress returned with a paper bag, set it on the table, and hurried back to the kitchen.

Breathing calmly, Xander felt his teeth shrinking. Running his tongue across his teeth to make sure there were normal, he in stead felt razor-sharp points on his still slightly elongated eye-teeth. He looked at Andy.

Xander's eyes were bloodshot, but nearly back to their brownish color. Andy was glad that was nearly normal again, but as soon as Xander spoke, the slight fangs were again revealed.

"We should go," Xander confessed.

Andy grabbed the sack and they left the café.

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1:30 AM Plains Motel - Room 305

The worst of the pain in Xander's stomach had passed by the time they'd made it to Andy's car, but Xander knew it would probably come back very soon. After the change in the diner, Xander's teeth remained slightly longer than usual with sharpened points at the end.

Andy followed Xander up to his room.

Xander put the special key card into the slot above the door handle and the lock was thrown. He pulled out the card and stepped inside, turning to Andy who remained in the hall. "Thanks and I _will_ pay you back. You should watch out for more kidnappings or whatever it is that you investigate; ... _homicides_ I guess. They'll want someone to replace me so that's what they're likely to do."

Andy pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to Xander along with the café's bag. "Call me on that private line when you get this all straightened out, or even if your _friends_ ends up needing police assistance. You can forget about paying me back. If you and your friends can _really_ stop any people in my city from being killed, I'd technically be owing _you_."

Xander looked at the card, "Thanks," and put it in his pocket. The pain hit him again, just as it had in the cafe.

"Are you going to be all right while you're waiting for your friends? Should I stay for a while?" Andy asked.

Xander shook his head, panting as the stabbing sensation faded again. "I don't think you'd be very safe around me," he admitted slowly. He had the urge again, just as he'd had before in the café; an inviting impulse that was pressuring him to attack Andy... It was odd because he felt an urge to be violent, but not specifically to bite. He managed to shake it off.

Andy gave a little, nervous laugh. "Then I think that changes things a bit... What's to keep you from hurting some other person staying at this hotel?"

Again the instinct resurfaced, this time even more strongly. He could feel his teeth lengthening. "You've done enough for me. I shouldn't ask for anything else..." More fiercely than before, the pain hit him again; this time as forcefully as a _gun shot_ in abdomen. He fell to his knees, dropping the sack.

Andy helped him back to his feet, edged into the room, shut the door, and led Xander to the bed.

Xander sat slightly hunched over, but still upright.

"Name it. Whatever else it is that you need..." Andy said, remaining standing, a few feet in front of Xander.

"I guess you could pass me the sandwich… May as well rule that out before I have you make any special errand for me."

Andy went to the door and picked up the bag, handing it back to Xander.

Xander reach in, unwrapped the sloppily-made sandwich, and took a bite. He chewed slowly and carefully, trying not to bite his lip or tongue with his very sharp teeth. The food tasted much better than he'd ever remembered a simple sandwich tasting… He swallowed, waiting a minute before attempting another bite.

"Better?" Andy asked.

Another few moments passed before he answered. His stomach was still rumbling, but he did start to feel a little better. He finally nodded, then took another bite with a little less apprehension. Xander was glad that the scientist had been wrong about _food_ being what would make him sick.

"Good," he said with a happy sigh, relieved that some regular food had been all Xander was needing. "So _will _you be fine alone? And not a danger to any of you neighbors?"

As he looked at his sandwich before taking another bite, he felt his teeth shrink back to small points. Taking another bite, he looked at Andy and gave a nod.

Andy tossed his cell phone on the bed for Xander. "You call your friends, like I heard you say you would when you got to a hotel; I get free long distance on evenings and weekends so you can use my phone rather than the hotel's. After you've reached them, I'll head back to work and you can try to get some rest… Would you like any more food? I can bring some by when I've finished a bit of back-paperwork."

"Sure," Xander said gratefully. "Thanks again for everything you've done."

"If you're asleep, should I just leave the food on the counter and let you rest?" Andy suggested. "You really look like you need some sleep."

Xander nodded. He found the extra key-card he'd put into his pocket after checking into the room, and handed it to Andy.

Within a few minutes Xander had left a message on Dawn's phone, Andy had left, and Xander had fallen asleep on the bed.

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4:15 AM, Plains Motel - Room 305

Andy, holding a paper bag, knocked on the door, waited a moment, and used the keycard, walking inside on his own.

Xander was laying asleep on top of the bed.

Andy sat the bag down on the counter near the small-screen television and grabbed a piece of paper from the stationary pad on the desk near the window. He found the hotel-supplied pen, scribbled a note, and set to down next to the bag. He closed the curtains of the window as quietly as he could. His cell phone lay on the nightstand, so he went to pick it up and drop off the key-card before he left.

Xander seemed to be in a deep sleep, undisturbed by the activity in the room.

Andy reached down to drop the card and pick up the phone...

Before Andy could even blink, Xander was on his feet pinning him against the closet door by the throat, Andy's feet several inches off the floor.

Xander's eyes were slightly glazed over with the red drowning out both the golden-brown and the white. The strained-sneer on his face let the long fangs show, but otherwise Xander's face lacked emotion.

Andy could feel pointed claws digging into his neck. He dropped his phone, struggling and choking, but he was unable to loosen the demonic, iron grip.

A moment of realization swept through Xander's face. As he dropped Andy, his eyes faded back to brown, his teeth shrank to the small points, and the tips of his fingernails miraculously dulled and shortened in length. He took a step back, turning his head to rub his eyes.

Andy crashed to the carpeted floor, coughing and rubbing his throat. Xander's fingernails had left an imprint in his skin, but hadn't broken the surface.

Xander turned back to Andy, extending a hand to help him to his feet. "I-I'm sorry. I'm not really sure what happened."

Andy accepted the hand and was easily pulled upright. He slipped his phone back inside his pocket and cleared his throat, apparently unharmed. "I went to my favorite early-bird restaurant and picked up breakfast; it's on the counter."

Xander went to the bag on the counter and opened it, finding a few Styrofoam containers what smelled like pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Packets of syrup had been tossed in the bag on top of everything else, along with a set of utensils and napkins.

"It took a little longer than I thought it would to finish the papers." Andy watched, not sure what to talk about after the attack. "Did you hear from your friends?"

Xander shook his head, putting the bag into the refrigerator. "How far is the airport from here?"

"An hour in traffic, but if they're really going to make it here before 5:30 AM, just before rush hour starts, they might be as fast as twenty-five minutes." Andy started for the door. He cleared his throat again and rubbed his neck. "My shift is over at around 6 AM, so give me a quick call telling me they made it."

"Thank you for everything," Xander said as he followed to shut the door behind Andy.

"No problem. It's been one of the most interesting shifts I've had in a while."

A pain suddenly shot through Xander's hands. He looked at them quickly, unable to stop them from shaking a little.

"You're sure you'll be all right alone?"

Xander looked at his fingernails, noticing that they were thicker than they had been, a little longer, and possessing a slightly grayish tint. He looked back to Andy. "Yes, fine..."

Andy left and Xander threw the deadbolt on the door. He went back to the bed to sleep until his friends phoned or until the sun brightened the curtain and woke him.

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7:20 AM, Plains Motel - Room 305

There suddenly came a knocking on the door.

"Xander?" Spike called from outside.

Willow knocked again.

Xander woke slowly, sorry that he had to wake up at all. He sat up, a little disoriented. The room was extremely bright, though the windows were securely covered by the thick curtains. He glanced at the digital clock. Realizing that the sun had been in the sky for only a short time, he dreaded how much the light might hurt him later in the day.

"Are you sure you heard the right number?" Anya asked Buffy.

"Yes; '305 at the Plains Motel just outside of the city,'" Buffy quoted. "That's exactly what he said."

"Then do you think he's still in there? We said we'd be here well before sunrise but how were we supposed to know there'd be a fog delay," Anya continued.

Xander stood and, feeling a little dizzy from the shortness of his sleep, staggered as he made it to the door. He undid the bolt and opened the door. He was greeted by four loud gasps and Spike's uneasy expression. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you."

"Y-You're so pale," Willow said, going a little pale herself. "But are you all right?"

Xander rubbed his eyes and gave a weak smile, all he could manage in his groggy, melancholy state.

The girls again made a sound, seeing his pointed teeth and the state of his fingernails. Spike still didn't seem very surprised.

Xander's smile faded with their reaction to his attempt at a simple, comforting smile. "As good as I suppose I can be... considering." He stepped a little to the side, making way for them all to enter.

The group trailed into the small room.

Xander closed the door. He left the bolt undone so his friends wouldn't feel too confined before knowing for sure that he didn't intend to kill them all. He turned back to them, not sure what to say.

"D-Do you know where the other vampires are?" Anya asked after a moment of silence.

Xander shook his head. "I was in a lab, which they called a hospital, and then, after a few shots, I was in an alley."

"How are you handling sunlight?" Buffy asked outwardly. "If you can tolerate it, we'd have a better chance of..."

"I don't know yet," Xander interrupted, rubbing his eyes again. "But the light in here really hurts my eyes."

"Even just this much?" Dawn asked, finding the room to be very dim.

Spike answered for Xander, giving a nod. "This isn't exactly a cave; even _I_ think this is a little bright."

"They messed me up pretty good," Xander concluded.

"You mentioned that one of the scientists said that other things may change," Spike reminded. "Notice anything? You never mentioned the skin and the eyes on the phone...and we saw the teeth for ourselves"

"My fingernails look a little weird… kinda stained or tinted or something, and a lot thicker," Xander answered. "That and the teeth are about it."

"Any other _abilities_?" Buffy continued.

"Or disabilities," Anya added nervously, "like maybe needing blood?"

Xander shook his head. "I don't need blood, and I'm all right now."

All of the girls were trying to find words for the question that should follow. _If he didn't need blood, what is it that he needs?_

He knew what that question would be so he answered it before they spoke. "I was in pretty bad shape after I got off the phone with you guys and I was in the café-- it only got worse. Andy, that Detective, helped me get here and when I ate a sandwich it turned out I was fine. Later on he brought me a breakfast in a paper bag and left. I've got that part under control, but still don't know what other _demons_ have been added to me. I heal pretty fast but that's probably still in the _vampire_ category."

"Oh!" Willow piped in happily. "I found what demon burned things with just their hands." Willow reached into her coat pocket, unfolded a piece of paper and positioned herself closely at the side of Xander to explain her findings.

Xander looked at the sheet as Willow began pointing thing out.

"They're called _Kralos_." She pointed to the second photograph. "They look completely human except for their ability to burn things; it's a defense mechanism... Open your eyes wide and look at me," she instructed, looking to him.

He did as he was told.

"Kralos demons have a dark red rim around their pupils," Willow explained as she looked closely at his eyes. "And there it is in your eyes."

Xander looked back to the sheet with a nod. "Any other fun facts about them? Like if they have a hobby of incinerating _people_?"

Willow nodded a little. "They're usually pretty peaceful. They _only_ use that fire trick to get away from things or defend themselves. That makes me think that if a vampire was trying to make a super-killer, they must have added other demons to their mix in order to compensate for the peaceful ones."

"So it's more likely than not that I'm Human, _Kralos_,_ Vampire_, and something else?" Xander asked, looking to his friends who seemed to say yes with their expressions. "That's just great," he said sarcastically. "And they still had another shot they wanted to stick me with… I just hope that this _fingernail_ thing is as far as the _unpredicted changes_ is going to go after the first three shots."

Dawn nodded. "Both what was in shot four, and all the side effects, is what could alter _all _the theories we've put together so far about how you've been changed; Kralos, Vampires with their souls, and Humans are all fairly peaceful, but if the other creature is something _really_ violent, that might negate the other influences. It all ready seems to have happened with sunlight. Humans and Kralos aren't allergic, or at all really sensitive to light, although you seem to be because of the Vampire."

Everyone looked at Dawn, surprised by the seemingly technical observations and how youthfully she'd explained the complex notions.

Dawn looked around nervously then gave a shrug, "That's what happens when the only book to read on the entire plane when you can't sleep is called _Biotechnology for Dummies_."

"So have you noticed any unusual behavior or urges? Even any problems sleeping?" Buffy continued.

Xander nodded. "When I was hungry after the café, when Andy brought me into the room, it was more like I was some sort of _monster _that was wanting to get loose… I felt like attacking him, but it wasn't a _biting_ urge, just violence."

Again, the girls began to look more nervous.

"And another thing that was weird, but I wasn't very awake to remember it all or even in the position to see anything about me changed..." Xander began. "I could feel my teeth were longer and sharper and my fingernails seemed more like sharp claws..." he rambled, trying to remember.

"What happened _exactly_?" Spike asked, hoping to help Xander focus on narration rather than random descriptions.

"And was anything else different? Eye-color… other senses?" Willow continued.

"It was after I left the message; I was asleep... then the next thing I know, I have Andy grabbed around the throat, pinned against those closets, and I'm holding him a little ways off the floor... He seemed really light."

Again, Spike wasn't surprised, but the girls were in shock. Willow took a few steps away from him.

He continued, gesturing to the night-stand. "Andy had the spare room key when he left to go back to work. He must have been leaving the card and picking up his cell phone from the night stand.. and it was some sort of reflex."

Xander finally noticed how worried they were becoming. "Haven't any of you woken up with someone standing over you, then just sort of _reacted_ somehow until your mind kicks into _awake _mode, then you do something using your _brain_?" Xander asked quickly.

None of them answered.

Xander figured he should give the fast translation of what he meant. "I put him down when I realized what was going on."

"That attack is the type of thing you mention right away and _very_ clearly," Buffy explained.

Xander gave up the happy, innocent approach, his expression becoming very serious. "I'm telling you now and I think we can move on to something else."

The phone in Xander's room began to ring suddenly.

"Who has this number?" Dawn asked.

"It's under Andy's name so it couldn't be a reporter _or_ the vampires." Xander went to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"It's Andy. I did a little follow up to your kidnapping. The only two hospitals within fifty miles that are big enough for what you described, and are currently renting space for extra income, are both just three miles from my station and only have about five renters between the two of them," he explained easily. "Have your friends made it there yet? I figured since it was already sun-up they should be there."

"Yes, they just got here. I was going to call you after I was done talking to them... When I was explaining things, they had one question that I couldn't really answer."

"Ok," Andy agreed easily. "Shoot."

"When I..." he wasn't sure how to put the question, "When you tried to get your phone this morning and I attacked you, did I _look _different? I could feel my teeth and nails, but was there anything else?"

Andy gave a sigh, still in shock over the idea that it had happened at all. He thought another moment and answered. "Just your eyes... They were red, but not just a little near the pupils like I noticed before, or covering the brown like in the cafe, but the whites, too."

"Ok, thanks," Xander said as gratefully as he could. "Anything else you called to say?"

"I don't back vigilantes, but given the circumstances, I'll call in a few favors and have a friend of mine look into the paper trails of the latest renters in the buildings. That's _only_ if you want me to."

"You should speak with a friend of mine on that. Hold on a sec," Xander said easily. He pulled the phone away from his ear gestured for Willow. "Andy wants to know if he should try to track them down."

Willow took the phone, introduced herself, then explained the various reasons why a trace would be bad. Amongst them she explained that if they knew anyone was trying to locate them, which was likely if someone were to dig too deep into finances, the kidnappers might run with the other victims, as well as the information needed to change Xander back.

Andy offered to track down primary information for them, and then let them do what they wanted with it.

Willow agreed, gave him her e-mail address, and thanked him for what he was doing.

They said goodbye and hung up.

"How else did you change? You mentioned it to Andy that we needed to know," Willow remembered.

"My eyes were red; he said it was the whites _and _the color," Xander answered shyly. He hated talking about those drastic changes as though it were a simple science experiment they were watching . For him to suddenly be a _monster_, the type of thing he'd always spent most of his free-time helping to kill, was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him. He was thankful that at least he didn't require blood to survive. If he did, he wasn't sure how he could bare to live with himself.

Willow nodded. "Then I'll get on the net and search the Demon databases for those characteristics until Andy gives me an e-mail."

"But first we should give this boy some more time to sleep," Spike suggested. "I'll get us the room next door."

"I'll bring the credit card," Buffy added.

Everyone but Xander left the room.

Xander locked the door behind them and happily went back into his bed.

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11:40 AM, Planes Motel - Room 303

They'd rented the larger room next to Xander's and brought up their belongings from the rented car. Andy had narrowed the five possible renters down to two; one at each of the large hospitals. They'd formulated a plan of how to find, and possibly surprise, the vampires before sunset that day. But if Xander couldn't endure the amount of light he'd be exposed to, they prepared an alternate plan that included Spike and would take place just after sunset.

Willow, in the meantime, had narrowed Xander's newly discovered traits down to five human-looking demons on the database. Without more information, searching any books or other references would be useless.

Xander was still asleep in his own room.

Willow got up from her computer, picked up a few papers she'd printed off from her portable printer, grabbed the small suit case of Xander's things that they'd brought with them, and headed for Xander's door. She knocked loudly, heard Xander get up, and the door opened. "I have a couple more questions for you, and I need to fill you in on a plan. Can I come in?"

Xander nodded and stepped aside to let her in, taking the suit case for her out of curtsy. He shut the door behind her. "What's in here?"

"Some things we brought from your apartment before the flight. We were kinda rushing so they're a little rumpled. We figured you could use a change of cloths..." She glanced back at his current wardrobe and noticed the slight stain to his white under shirt. "Or in your case a few replacement pieces."

"Thank you." Xander easily set the suitcase on his bed.

"How are you feeling?" Willow began, sitting on the small couch near the closed curtains. There were no lights on in the room to read her papers by, so she turned on the lamp next to her. She motioned for him to sit at her side.

Xander sat down beside her, squinting a little in the light.

"Anything different?" Willow asked nervously.

He shook his head. "Not unless you can see it. I've been asleep and don't feel any different so far."

"Well, Andy gave us the locations and narrowed it down to just two renters: one at each place. We figure we need to go hands-on from here to avoid the possibility of tipping them off with the computer searches."

Xander nodded. "So, what's the plan?"

"We need to know a couple more things first."

"Like what?" he asked quickly.

"Well," she began "first there's the issue of sunlight. We know your eyes are sensitive, but we want to know if that means you just need a pair of sunglasses or if you're actually going to burn."

Xander nodded again and stood, moving towards the cords that open the curtains. "So they elected you so see if I'll light up like a match?" He opened the curtains a little ways, letting the cloud-filtered sunlight pour inside. Xander turned away from the brightness, feeling his tired, already sensitive, eyes beginning to sting.

"No, it's nothing like the way you put it," Willow argued quickly. "You'd need to find out eventually, anyway... It's just that if we want to use our advantage over the other vampires, we'd have to attack during the day and that means knowing if you can go outside or not." Willow got to her feet. "You're talking like the rest of us don't like you anymore or something. That's sort of the way you've been acting since we got here."

Xander extended his arm into the light, bracing for pain of some sort... but luckily none came. The sun felt very warm to his pale, slightly cold skin but it didn't actually burn.

"You see," Willow protested with a smile. "You would have been sulking in the shadows all day if you hadn't at least tried."

Xander looked at his hand in the light and could see it quickly turning pink. His fingernails began to darken again to a slightly bluish gray before his skin then darkened to a slight red. Finally, it began to feel like he was being burnt. He pulled it back into the shadows. Even more quickly than it had burned, the color faded back to it's pale shade and the pain was gone, but his fingernails remained stained the sickly shade of gray. He looked at his other hand... Those nails had grayed as well even though they had not been in the sunlight.

Willow was sorry she'd said anything.

"You're right: I could have been sulking for five minutes at a time. Before I told Andy what was going on, he said I didn't look like the type to have _strange contacts._ Now I _really_ look the role: pale skin, _fangs_, weird _contacts_, and blackish nails. All I need now is a long black coat and I'd be a hit at any Halloween party." He closed the curtains again with a sigh, trying to calm down a little. Willow was right, he hadn't been treating any of them like he usually did. "What are the other questions?" Xander took a seat on the wooden chair at the desk across from Willow.

Willow sat down again on the couch, matching Xander's irritable tone. "Can you control what you burn with your hands?"

"Yes. I haven't tried to control the amount of heat, but I can make things burn when I want; that is to say, I've only done it twice and one time was when I _pretty much_ wanted to destroy something."

"Do you think the vampires know you can do that?"

Xander shrugged. "They were talking in another room and one of them mentioned something about really _changing the recipe,_ and the other one confessed that they didn't know what to expect. I think I'm the first one to have another demon mixed with a vampire. Why does it matter if they know?"

"Well, I asked because Buffy wants you to go with her and Spike to patrol a park near one of the hospitals where they might be hiding. We know there are a lot of followers and if they know you can do that, they'd know to keep clear of your hands. If you did end up fighting one of them, or any vampire right now, you might be able to just give 'em a pat on the back and then _snap, crackle, pop_ to a pile of cinders."

Xander nodded with a slightly surprised expression. "You're right; I'd be pretty safe. If I can liquefy a mirror and have my hands sink into a brick wall, it shouldn't be too hard to set a vampire on fire... I guess I'd be up for that." He gave a small yawn. "What are those papers?"

"Oh," she exclaimed rather loudly, having completely forgotten. Willow handed the small stack to him.

He flipped through them slowly.

"That's all the information I've found on Kralos demons. It's a pretty complete document; there's some biological information and..."

"Great," Xander interrupted, dropping the pile of papers onto the desk before turning right back to Willow. He returned to the slightly irritable manner that he'd greeted her with before.

Willow was a little surprised. "I-I'm just trying to help you in the only way I really can for now: finding the information everyone else wants to know and what I figured _you'd_ want to know."

"I just don't want to talk about _this_ anymore unless it's going to be about some way of getting me back to normal. If anything _changes_ any more, then I'll be sure to let you all know."

"What _can_ I do for you?" Willow asked as though exhausted by her efforts. "Just tell me; I want to help you in some way... I don't know any magic that might work in this case, but I could look..."

"For now, you and the others can get some sleep," Xander explained, finally softening his manner. "I can tell that you haven't slept for a while, and even if you napped on then plane you couldn't have slept for long."

Willow gave in to the yawn she'd been fighting for the last hour. "I think you may be right." She stood, preparing to leave. "What about you?"

Xander sighed, also standing. "I've been groggy since last night, and I haven't exactly gotten an un-interrupted block of sleep." He gave a small laugh, "That's actually not much different from my usual schedule back in Sunnydale."

Willow nodded with a small smile, again matching his mood (this time being unenthusiastically optimistic). "I'll suggest it to the others... Regardless of what we end up doing in your room, I'll wake you around 5 PM so we can make a solid plan and have time to get organized before you three patrol at sunset." She headed for the door and opened it.

Xander followed.

Willow was nearly in the hall before he stopped her with a light hand on the shoulder. She turned.

"Thank you for talking with me; I know I'm kinda' being a pain... I told Dawn one time how hard it was to be the one in this group without any _special_ ability or power, but I have to say this was _not_ what I ever expected to be stuck with in the _strength_ category," Xander finally admitted.

Willow was again surprised by his comments. "You should have realized from what _I_ went through, with my magic nearly destroying the world, that power isn't what it's cracked up to be."

Xander shook his head. "At least you had it, that's what I thought: at least you could do _something_ that made an instant difference in the big picture. All I ever did was get really good at talking and nailing things back together to save a buck."

"When I could make the most difference, I ended up doing the most _damage_. You stopped me from destroying the world just by your ability to _talk_," Willow reminded. "And I doubt you could have ended the world at any moment with _that _gift. But now, with your _new_ abilities, you might end up inadvertently breaking more things than you can fix." Suddenly, she gave a little smile and finished, "I basically mean that the '_you break it, you bought it'_ rule applies. Be careful of what you try to do."

Xander looked at her sadly. "I'll see you later."

She reluctantly nodded.

He shut the door and went back to bed.

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	2. Bijou and Deskleave and Lazlon, Oh My!

-1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6:00 PM - room 305

After they had all completely woken up from their daytime rest and had a light, per-battle snack (Xander had eaten most of his breakfast throughout the day but finished it before meeting with the others), the group gathered in the larger of the two rooms to make a solid plan.

"There are only two hospitals where they might be," Willow reviewed. "There's a park near one of them and there are nightclubs and a university nearer to the other."

"I vote for the park," Xander said. "I don't know how well I'd blend in at the other places and since we have to go to one_ first_..."

Buffy nodded. "All right... We'll start at the park in early evening, but if we don't find anything after an hour or so, we'll head to the other place for a little while."

"What should the rest of us do?" Dawn asked.

"You can get blue-prints of the two hospitals," Xander said before Buffy could answer. "You've gotten sewer maps, so _this_ should be simple."

Spike continued. "We'll need to know the security system, back doors, and the general layout of rooms."

"I'll dig out my weapons and then we can head out," Buffy suggested. She smiled. "Since they weren't carry-on, and Willow twitched her nose just enough as they went through the metal detector, I even have a crossbow they didn't mind letting on the plane."

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6:45 PM, Sunset at the entrance to Lloyd Park, across from Glenn Medical Center

Xander parked the car near what appeared to be the main entrance of the expansive park.

All three got out and began down a path, avoiding the hospital's half of the park to begin with. They'd brought stakes and Buffy carried the crossbow; they hadn't wanted to push their luck with any other metallic weaponry while going through airport security.

Xander finally voiced a concern. "Are you sure it's a good idea to be so close to this hospital while we're patrolling? I know the point is to find out if this _is_ the right place, but the gang might outnumber us and... you know... get you two and me into the..." His sentence was interrupted by a blood-curtailing scream near the end of their path.

There were too many trees, and too dim of lighting, to see exactly where it might be coming from. All of them set out at a run towards the screaming. They reached a fork in the path and diverged from the pavement all together, hurrying past a clump of trees.

A blond woman was being pulled, kicking and screaming, by a pair of vampires. Three other vampires walked with the struggling trio, ignoring the fact that their comrades were having such trouble with the woman.

Buffy ran up to one of the group and kicked it to the ground, forcing the rest to release the girl.

Spike tackled one of the others, knocking it to the ground.

Xander charged at a one of the remaining three, slugging it in the jaw hard enough to knock it into a spiny bush several feet away. It turned it to dust before either Xander or the Vampire really realized what had happened. He stood for a moment, shocked by the display of strength.

The remaining two vampires ignored the girl and went after Xander, forcing him to the ground and pinning him to the grass.

Buffy staked her opponent and immediately pulled one of the two away from Xander, staking it more easily than she had the first.

Spike and his opponent were back on their feet, but each was struggling to force the other to the ground. Spike delivered a swift kick to the vampire's stomach and it was propelled into the same spiny bush. It turned to dust.

Xander flipped the last vampire over him and to the ground, reversing their positions. He grabbed it around the throat. Xander could feel his hands becoming extremely warm and suddenly the vampire turned to dust beneath him.

Buffy went to Xander. "Are you all right?"

Xander nodded, getting to his feet and looking to the girl. His hands cooled quickly as his fear and adrenaline began to fade.

The girl had fainted and, by then, Spike was kneeling next to her.

Buffy and Xander went over to the girl and to their knees, both on the side opposite of Spike.

Xander touched her on the shoulder and gave a very gentle shake. "Wake up... Hey... Are you all right...?"

The girl stirred a little, then her eyes popped open. The first person she saw was Xander, and she gave a small cry of fear.

"It's ok," he assured calmly, letting go of her

She still looked frightened, but went silent.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked her.

"Can you get home on your own?" Spike continued.

The girl sat up, drawing away from Xander a little more. He was a frightening figure with the strange eyes, pale skin, black nails, and long teeth. She nodded to Buffy and Spike. "I'm ok... I don't live too far away..."

"You should avoid this park, if you can," Xander advised.

"There'll be some of those monsters 'round here for just a couple more nights," Spike explained.

The girl looked at Xander, obviously still frightened. "Y-You look kinda like t-them," she managed to say. "Is that what you are? Some type of monster?"

Xander was nearly as hurt by the question as he had been by the sun earlier in the day. He stood slowly and went over to a tree several paces away from the others. He didn't want to confront the answer. One thing he knew was that he obviously wasn't human _enough_ anymore to even keep from frightening a person whose life he'd just helped to save.

Buffy put a hand on the girl's shoulder, just as Xander had. "He's not exactly like them; he wouldn't have tried to help you if he was." She stood and helped the frightened girl to her feet by the arm. "Are you sure you can make it home on your own?"

She nodded. "Thank you," she said to Buffy and Spike, then looked to Xander. "A-And I'm sorry I thought you were a monster. It was just... with the way you look…" She realized she wasn't really helping the apology by continuing to point out his appearance. "Thank you, too." She turned towards the closest path and began down it, stumbling slightly.

Once the girl was out of sight, Buffy turned back to Xander. "It's ok," she assured easily. "She was just scared. Sure, you don't look one-hundred percent human, but _I_ wouldn't go as far as _monster_. If she'd have been conscious and seen _me_ fighting she might have accused me of not being human, either."

Spike got to his feet. "Same with me."

Xander shook his head, turning to face Buffy. He was surprisingly calm as he spoke, "I should have expected her to react that way. I'm hardly a person anymore; I _am_ a monster."

Buffy was a little thrown by his recent demeanor. "I get that this is traumatizing, but you're like a brother to me. Why are you acting this way?" she demanded furiously as she approached him quickly.

Xander gave a small laugh. "The answer is basically the same thing I just said." He spread his arms out as though presenting himself. "I'm a monster." His arms dropped back to his sides. "And I gotta say I'm not liking _any_ of it as much as the other _monsters_ seemto."

"Well, I doubt _you're_ supposed to like it at all," Buffy snapped back. "But you have to start dealing with it a little better than this. You can't keep..." She stopped talking, unsure of how she could voice her opinion gently.

"Keep what?!" Xander asked her loudly, as though truly angry at _her_. He managed to calm down a little with a sigh before continuing. "If the girl had accused _you_ of being a _blood thirsty monster_, how would you have admitted to her that you were almost _exactly _like those things. Would you still have managed to keep her calm? Besides, not every _Vampire-like-creature_ can also _burn_ another thing to death with just a touch."

Buffy was speechless. She hadn't really been thinking of how she'd be reacting to everything in _Xander's_ situation. She easily could have handled the accusation if it weren't true, but it _was_ almost true for Xander. "I don't know..." she admitted quietly.

"When _you_ figure it out, _then_ give me pointers on how I should be acting. _Until_ then, I'm trying my best," he finally said, seeming much more calm, though still slightly irrational.

Spike joined them. "I'd of told her that I just saved her life and that I was only there to help her. If she was still in a panic 'bout me bein' a little less than human, I'd 'a just told her to hurry home. Ya can't take it personal-like. Not to sound too much like one a' them after school specials but the way people react when they see you is something you can't change. It's jus' the things you _do _that define what you are."

Xander hadn't really remembered that Spike was there at all, let alone in nearly the same situation.

"And as far as _dealin'_ with it," he turned to Buffy, "be grateful of two things: first, that he's not just another unsolved for the local coppers to bury as a John Doe; and second, that he isn't bad-off enough to be tryin' to bite or kill everything in sight." He turned back to Xander. "There are only a few _pointers _for you: remember you have friends like Buffy and Willow; keep in check any hot temper you might have acquired; and most of all, don't act on what you're feelin'. If ya keep usein' your brain, your violent side will lose out every time."

Xander and Buffy were both in awe of Spike's apparent wisdom.

Spike gave a modest smile to them both. "Despite what you might a' heard, I'm not just another pretty face."

They all stood in silence for a few minutes as the advise sank in.

"Well, now that we know this is the right park. We should keep patrolling," Buffy finally suggested, "and maybe even move in closer to the hospital so we can find the exact part of the building."

Spike gave a nod. "We finished off five out here, but that still leaves a few dozen."

They began towards a path that would take them deeper into the park and eventually pass the perimeter adjacent to the hospital.

"And even more than a few dozen to deal with if we can't stop them from making replacements," Buffy added somberly.

"They're probably out now, even at other places, catching people like that girl," Xander pointed out.

Just then, a pair of screams broke the silence. They were coming from the part of the park nearest to the hospital. As quickly as the screaming had begun, both voices were quieted.

"We don't know how many there might be," Xander warned in a frightened voice before making any sort of move. The five they'd just faced had been more than Xander ever wanted to see in one place. It hadn't exactly been difficult to fight them, but all it would take is one mistake to get recaptured.

"But we have to risk it, or there _will_ be a lot more," Buffy told him, setting out at a run towards the origin of the cries.

Spike followed without any complaint.

Despite his renewed fear of being out-numbered and returned to a lab for _experiments_, he quickly followed behind them. He couldn't let Buffy and Spike go up against an unknown number of Vampires just because _he_ was being his usual, timid self.

They could see a clearing near the parking lot where six more vampires were carrying three unconscious women towards the hospital.

Four of the vampires were actually caring the victims while the other two, who were a little bigger and presumably stronger, escorted the group and acted as bodyguards. They pushed their way through some waist-high shrubs and onto the paved parking area.

Buffy jumped over the bushes and began the assault with a kick to one of the guards.

Spike vaulted over the plants and attacked the other guard with a punch.

Xander followed, pushing through the bushes, and attacked one of the vampires who held a girl.

All four of them dropped their girls and glommed on to Xander like ants on a dying insect, weighing him down against the pavement despite the advantage he expected to have.

Xander felt like his hands were on fire, but he was pinned to the pavement by two vampires holding his forearms, and two more pinning the rest of him. He couldn't touch a single vampire with even a finger.

Both guards continued to fight Spike and Buffy. The guards blocked both of their opponents' hits and would not submit to several attempts at staking.

One of the two vampires who had been holding Xander's legs suddenly let him go. The vampire reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular box. He opened it and pulled out the needle.

Before Xander realized it had happened, the needle was jabbed into his neck.

Spike was delivered a hard kick to the chest, sending him sailing through the air, over the bushes and back to the grass of the park, unconscious.

Buffy continued to fight both of the guards, oblivious to what was happening to Xander.

The shot quickly knocked Xander into a state of delirious submission; he couldn't fight and he could barely find the strength to struggle. The four regained a sturdy grip on him, pulled him off the ground, and began carrying him across the large, empty parking lot.

Buffy suddenly realized that Xander, as well as the remaining vampires, had disappeared from sight. With one burst of speed and strength, she managed to break through the defenses of one of the guards, and stake it; it turned to dust in front of her. As quickly as she could, she delivered one more fierce punch to the remaining guard and fled after Xander and the others, towards the open area of the parking lot.

She ran through some more bushes and spotted the group nearly half way across the lot, struggling to comfortably carry Xander towards a door. She pulled the crossbow off her back and finally tried to use it on Xander's captors; it jammed.

All of those vampires were much smaller men than the guards had been.

Buffy dropped the faulty weapon and ran for the group, plowing into them and forcing the captors to drop Xander to the pavement. She had easily and quickly plunged her stake into two of the small vampires before the last remaining guard had caught up with the fight.

Xander tried to sit up, but all the world seemed to be spinning.

Just when she thought she was winning the fight, with only three vampires left to kill before they could retreat, a dozen more bulky vampires filed out of the nearest door and charged towards their small struggle.

The smaller two retreated towards the charging group, but the guard continued fighting.

With one clean kick, the guard was knocked to the ground with severe force and rendered unconscious; Buffy was in too much of a hurry to finish him. She rushed back to Xander's side and tried to pick him up, or at least get him to his feet.

"Get up _now_!" Buffy demanded frantically, trying to pull him up again. Despite all of her strength it seemed as if Xander weighed a ton.

"I-I can't," Xander muttered. He'd made it to his knees and looked up to her. "The others won't know what happened if we're all taken away..."

Buffy wasn't listening, she continued trying to pull him up.

Xander found the strength to push her away. "Run!" He again went crashing to the pavement, this time with barely enough strength to keep his eyes open.

The mob had nearly reached her. "We'll get you out as soon as we can," she promised. She jumped to her feet and ran as fast as she could back the way she'd come, pushing through the nearest hedge and heading for Spike.

Spike was on the ground past the second hedge, just beginning to stand.

Buffy sprinted through the split in the last hedge and pulled Spike up quickly. "We have to run."

They both began to run through the park. Nearly to the car, they stopped to see if they'd been followed.

Not one vampire had followed them.

Xander was picked up by the large vampire who'd survived Buffy's attack and taken into the building.

All the others followed, filing back through the main entrance.

Xander was carried down a hall, too drugged to make any sort of escape and too numbed to even tell he was being carried.

The vampire continued through a doorway, down a hall, and into a dark room labeled _#5_. He dropped Xander roughly to the floor, and left, locking the door behind him. He flipped a switch outside the room, and a dim light came on inside Xander's cell. The guard turned around and went back towards the main room.

Xander fell asleep almost instantly, finally too weak from the injection to do anything else. The last thing he saw was the padded walls of the room empty of everything but two chains hanging from the wall and another two at the floor.

Buffy and Spike made it to the car, got in, and Spike began to drive them back to the motel.

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7:20 PM - Plains Motel room 305

Buffy and Spike came rushing into the room.

"What's the matter?" Willow asked quickly, looking over the screen of her laptop.

"They have Xander." Buffy was close to tears of guilt. She hated herself for having to run away, as well as for pushing to attack when they weren't prepared. _There were just too many of them_...

"Then we need to get him back" Dawn said quickly, pulling a pot of soup off the burner and turning the stove off.

"And soon," Anya added in a panic. "Before they can turn him into any more of a demon." She gave a nervous laugh. "Not that there's anything wrong with being a demon, it's just that I like _human _Xander."

Buffy shook her head. "We can't try anything until sunrise; there are too many vampires there to risk it with just two of us to fight and three more to get him out... They gave Xander some sort of shot and it knocked him out really fast. I have no idea how long it will be before he wakes up."

"It was the one near the park, right? I found the blueprint of that lab on one of the web sites," Willow explained, going to the correct site.

Dawn, Anya, Buffy, and Spike gathered around the computer.

Willow pointed to the large room just off from the main lab. "Xander mentioned this room; that's where the workers stay..." She pointed to the hall opposite of it where there were five much smaller rooms, "This must be where they've taken Xander and the others."

"There any alarm system?" Spike asked.

"And what about video cameras?" Buffy suggested. "As soon as we got near the door, they sent out reinforcements."

Willow smiled. "Not a problem." She pointed to a small square on the back side of the building. "It's there and I just need to cut a few wires..."

"The first priority is to get Xander out, which means bringing some blankets and ultimately being as quiet as we can..." Buffy explained. "We won't know how many guards are on duty during the day, or if they'll change their routine since they know we're here..."

"And we should bring some _blood_, too, just in case they've done something _else_ to him by then," Anya suggested.

Buffy gave a nod. "We should make this _strictly_ a retrieval of Xander and not so much a_ kill 'em all_ type of project. Once he's out, we can regroup and make a choice on whether or not to go back for a fight."

"9 AM would be good," Spike explained. "Most of the drones will probably be in bed for the day... They might expect us to make an attack as soon as the sun is up, when we first have an advantage. Plus, they might think we're waiting until tomorrow _night_ so we had a day to _plan_ on exactly how to get in an' out."

"Sounds good," Buffy said, going over to the duplicates of the weapons they'd brought patrolling. "We should get weapons ready, just in case they _are_ expecting us."

Willow got up and went over to the backpack she'd brought with her. "I could try to find a sleeping spell or one that can slow down time... I know that if it works at all I'll need someone to help me get out of there because I'll definitely be too drained to do much walking."

"Buffy and Spike can handle Xander," Dawn said. "Anya and I could help you get away."

"Strike that," Spike began to Willow, sitting on the couch behind the desk. "If you can't walk when we get out, let's plan on me _carrying_ you to speed the get-away."

Willow nodded as she unzipped the bag and pulled out three books. "I was expecting that we'd need a similar spell, considering the odds, so I borrowed some books and supplies from the leftover inventory of the _X-_Magic Box."

Dawn sighed, looking over to the stove. "Well, the more conventional dinner is_ finally_ ready..."

Buffy shook her head, "I can't eat right now."

"I guess I'll put it in the fridge," Dawn offered.

"And I'll just keep working with the spells," Willow decided. "There's only one disadvantage with time-freezing spells..."

The others stopped everything, eager to hear the catch clearly.

"You can't change people too drastically while they're frozen," Willow continued. "Which means that you can't kill _any _of them without breaking the spell completely. You can move them a few feet from wherever you find them, but no matter what you do, _don't kill a single vampire_. In the case of Xander, I'll come up with some sort of charm to get him out. I'll even make an extra in case there are any 100 humans inside."

Spike thought a moment. "Does that mean we can't snag any of the paper-work that might be layin' around?"

Willow shook her head with a smile. "Humanoids and animals can't be moved, but grab whatever you can; it might help us figure out what they did to Xander."

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10:30 PM - Vampire's Lab, Room #5

Xander woke the same way he had when last he'd slept there: to a prick in the arm and fully restrained. Very quickly, he opened his eyes.

He was in the dimly lit, padded room and Bernard and Joseph were standing over him. They'd bound him to the wall where metal rings came out of the padded mats, using the same style of leather straps to hold him down as they had before. His hands were gloved, and, this time, instead of giving him an injection, they'd put a needle in his arm with a tube connected to an empty pint-sized bag at the end; they were drawing a pint of blood from him.

Xander did his best to break from the restraints. He could feel his hands getting warm in the gloves, but some sort of grainy substance on his hands seemed to make it no longer an effective tool.

"Come, come," Joseph began in a shocked voice. "Conscious or unconscious, we'll get at least a pint from you. Drugs do not only taint the sample, but will have likely stopped working on you all together since we gave you your last shot…"

Xander's heart sunk. "I'd have woken up. When did you give me the last shot?" he interrupted quickly.

"You were drugged," Bernard answered. "You only work up when the shot began to effect you, otherwise you'd have been asleep for at least four more hours."

Xander had a deep feeling of dread. He didn't really feel any different than he had before leaving the motel, but there was no way to know exactly how he was going to be changed.

"As I was saying," Joseph continued, "if you don't stop struggling, we would be forced to knock you out with brute strength."

As if on cue, a tall, muscular, vampire guard opened the door to the room and walked inside in a threatening manner.

Xander did as he was told and stopped moving. He began focusing strictly on freeing his hands. _If I could manage that_, he thought, _I might be able to touch the leather straps just enough to burn through them_.

All of the Vampires began towards the door.

"When the bag is filled, we shall come in again for the blood," Joseph explained. "And don't bother trying to melt those gloves, or anything else in this room. We would not have created a subject who could burn things so easily with their hands if we couldn't prevent him from escaping."

The Vampires trailed out of the door.

Bernard stopped before following the others out and turned back to Xander. "We are taking away some of your blood so the next step will go more easily. We'll begin the first, and possibly for you the most _painful_, experiment. We must, after all, make sure that you have enough of the demon in you to be capable of killing something. Not all of our other patients have felt the urge to kill, so we quickly repair our mistakes. We realize that you have only minimal tolerance to sunlight, so we shall attempt to repair that as well."

"Why not just _ask _me what I'm feeling?" Xander asked him angrily. "My friends will have me out of here before you have a chance to watch whether or not I could do it."

Bernard shook his head with a laugh. "You and your friends have diminished our numbers, but they _are_ no match for us and likely to be killed if they should attempt a break in. I must say, they would make very entertaining patients or even more entertaining _failures_." He gave a smile. "We shall not lose you again." He turned around and left, locking the door behind him.

Xander tried again to pull free, but could feel himself getting weaker with every heartbeat.

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11:15 PM

The pain Xander had experienced throughout the previous evening was steadily growing. His stomach had begun aching with hunger and he felt his teeth lengthening. His eyes were growing more sensitive to the light, likely either a bi-product of their monstrous change to red (given his delirium the last time they had changed, he wasn't sure how they may feel) or the result of the final injection. His fingers felt suddenly cramped in his gloves, revealing that his _claws_ had returned but the gloves seemed too durable to be torn by their sharp points.

The packet of dark red blood being drawn from his arm was nearly full.

Bernard came in, accompanied again by the large guard. He pulled the needle from Xander's arm, and left with the bag.

The worker kicked Xander hard in the ribs, then bent down and slugged him in the face.

Xander was winded and his head was swimming.

The vampire quickly untied Xander's restraints, but left straps hanging where they were when he left the room. He locked the door behind him.

Xander rolled over into his stomach and pushed himself to his knees, looking around the room again. He crawled into the corner to his left, exhausted. He tore off the gloves off his hands and threw them into the opposite corner, near the door.

A small amount of white powder had lined the gloves.

Xander tried to brush the remaining, flour-like powder off his hands, but a light layer remained. He was finally too tired to try getting it all off. Before even really trying, he'd fallen into a deep sleep from weakness.

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Saturday, 4:15 AM

Very suddenly the door opened again.

Xander woke quickly to see what was coming in this time. He jumped from the floor and headed for the open door.

The worker pushed a girl, bound, gagged, and blind-folded, through the door and into Xander, knocking them both to the floor.

Xander pushed the girl away quickly, but as gently as he could manage, and leaped to his feet again, rushing to the door.

The door slammed shut before he made it.

He knew that he was meant to kill the girl. "Let me out!" he yelled as loudly as he could, surprised to hear it as a beastly roar. Xander punched the door as hard as he could out of frustration. He laid his hands against the door, feeling them becoming warm again.

Nothing happened. Bernard hadn't lied about having a room that wouldn't be effected by fire. He couldn't help but wonder if the remaining powder had interfered with the heating...

The girl was crying softly, laying helplessly on her side.

With a sigh, Xander turned back to the girl, his eyes a more supernatural shade of golden-brown than they had ever been. He forced his teeth to back to small points and saw her coal-gray fingernails also become shorter and more like a human. Remembering Spike's advice from earlier that evening, he knelt down beside her. "Listen to me: I want to warn you that I don't look completely human, but I won't hurt you." He reached down and untied the gag from her mouth, then slid the blindfold off her eyes.

She looked at him, giving a small gasp. Managing to hide her fear, she allowed him to continue.

Xander untied the rope from her legs, and she sat up, allowing him to untie her hands from behind her back.

"Thank you," she said quietly, still a little openly frightened by what he looked like. She rubbed her rope-burned wrists, not taking her eyes off of him.

Xander crawled over to the corner he'd slept in before being bound to the wall, feeling almost as out of control as he had in the cafe with Andy. He sat cross-legged, wringing his hands out of nerves and not looking towards her.

"Why am I here and what are you? What are the rest of the creatures here?" she asked, going into the corner opposite of him, just beside the gloves.

Xander answered quickly, still not looking to her. "They want to see if I'll kill you."

"W-Why?" she asked quickly.

"They turned me into something like them, and they're twisted, crazy _monsters_," he answered easily, finally looking at her. "_They're_ Vampires."

The girl tried to ask another question, but her voice failed her. She started again. "_Will_ you kill me?"

Xander looked away and shook his head. Thinking again, he looked to her with an unreassuring expression. He realized quite easily that now blood _was_ what he needed… and he needed to quite badly.

The girl was scared again; his eyes were a deep shade of red.

"I don't know yet." Xander could feel the fangs back in his mouth and the points of his fingernails digging into his now clenched hands. The pain quickly returning to his stomach. "If my friends don't get here pretty soon, I have to say this might not turn out very good for either of us."

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8:25 AM

By 5 AM Xander and the girl had fallen asleep in their own corners. The girl had agreed not to talk to him and Xander tried to use the silence to think of other things until, finally, they'd both drifted off.

The door opened again very quietly, and the worker vampire came in quickly. He bent down and picked up the girl, who immediately woke and began to fight back.

Xander woke and got up quickly, charging at the worker to save the girl from whatever she might face outside the room. He figured she would still be safer inside with him than she would be with the scientists.

"Stop that, Alexander!" Bernard ordered from the doorway. He held a crossbow aimed at Xander's chest.

The girl was kicking and now screaming.

Xander did as he was told and took a step back from the worker, his eyes glued only on Bernard and the crossbow. He didn't know yet if some wood through his heart could kill him.

The worker finally got a good hold on the girl, pinning her over his shoulder. Before leaving, he swiftly kicked Xander in the stomach with the same brutality he'd shown before.

Xander fell the floor, not having anticipated the Vampire's attack as he was waiting for action from Bernard. Now he was winded and in even more pain than he had already been feeling.

The vampire and Bernard left, locking the door as he had before.

Xander sat up, taking deep breaths.

He was a little happy that they'd finally taken her away, but was still painfully starved. If his friends got him soon, he'd be able to survive. Somehow he could feel that the sun had already been up for an hour, and he knew they wouldn't let him stay in there for the entire day...

Xander crawled slowly back to his corner, knowing that since he hadn't killed the girl, she _would_ soon be killed by something else held captive there. He remembered again what Spike had said about _using his head_ in stead of acting on his other feelings. He tried to fall asleep again.

The silence was soon broken by a series of the girl's screams. The shrieks became a little muffled but continued with just as much strength.

Xander could not rest.

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8:55 AM

The girl's screams had fallen silent after only a few minutes of the shrill cries.

The door to Xander's cell opened as it had a half-an-hour ago.

He got up and took a step towards the clear doorway, hoping that it was his friends breaking him out...

The girl was shoved inside. Her arms and legs were dripping with dozens of long, bloody cuts. They'd taken her jacket and shoes. She crashed to the mat, crying softly. Favoring her left leg, she scrambled into the corner she'd been taken from.

Xander withdrew at once into his corner, covering his eyes with his hands. He knew that if he even looked at her, he was likely to jump back up and attack her. Every breath he took made his mind race with a violent craving for her blood.

The worker who had dropped the girl came into the room, followed by Joseph.

"Your progress is too slow," Joseph complained. "We are going to give you another shot; it should heighten your taste for human blood." He motioned for the guard to pick up Xander. "You seem to know more about demons than my average patient so I will me blunt: it will not be vampiric."

"No," Xander said quickly, looking at the guard. "Stay the Hell away from me!" He tried kicking an pushing at the guard, but it was useless. Whatever strength he had the night before had been drained by his loss of blood.

The guard swung once and hit Xander squarely in the jaw, sending him into a delirium. He pulled the cowering Xander upright, just as easily then he had the girl, and gave him another fierce punch to the jaw, sending him flying into the padded wall and limply back to the floor.

"This injection should be potent enough to allow sun exposure as well as to encourage you to kill. You will now heal more quickly than you can imagine, and the blood you drink will simply help speed up these next changes. Otherwise, this transformation will take time, just as most of the others changes did."

The brutish guard pulled Xander back to his feet, then punched him hard in the stomach, sending him falling back to the floor again.

"It may also repair the unhealthy shade of your fingernails," Joseph added. "The poison in your claws should still be useful and the red eyes are a nice touch to your demonic appearance, so we'll attempt to preserve and accentuate both of these traits."

The guard delivered a kick to Xander's stomach, finally prompting a call of pain from Xander.

"I mention those specifically because in your human form, _passing_ for human _is_ the whole point. I can't have you running about with such strangely colored eyes that may frighten an intended victim, and the color to your fingernails is too unflattering."

Xander's ears were ringing. Being flipped around so quickly, and beaten, caused the words Joseph was saying to make little sense.

"Then again, you will be the first to receive this injection," Joseph continued. He couldn't help but laugh excitedly as he finished. "There may be some unforeseen complications."

The guard bent down, leaving Xander on the floor, and gave another brutal punch to the face.

Bernard came quickly in brandishing a fresh syringe filled with a Windex-blue liquid.

"A _likely_ side effect will be the _need_, not just the desire, to feed on human blood more often. The increase in your strength would also boost your metabolism," Joseph continued.

The girl had remained pressed against the walls of her matted corner, but suddenly edged towards the door.

Joseph turned to her quickly showing his vampire face. "If you move another inch, I promise that you will _not_ be human when you die."

The girl froze in terror.

Joseph turned back to Xander with his human face having returned.

Bernard went over to Xander and down to one knee. He turned to the guard. "Hold him."

The guard pinned Xander against the wall with a forearm to the throat, prompting Xander to lift his hands up in a weak attempt to get free.

Bernard easily pulled one of Xander's struggling hands away from his captor's arm to give the injection very quickly. He pulled the needle out of Xander's arm and stood, hurrying from the cell.

The guard pulled back, kicked Xander in the face, and followed Bernard.

Joseph remained for a few moments to gloat.

To Xander, the room was spinning almost as quickly as it had when he'd been given the tranquilizer. He managed to look towards Joseph, though his eyes couldn't stay focused, and struggle to crawl towards the door.

"You have a strong will, but with any luck, it will fail you sooner rather than later." He laughed. "That is, it will be luckiest for _us_. After all, these treatments are quite expensive." Joseph turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him and turning the lock.

Xander gave up on crawling and tried to sit upright. He licked the blood from his lip; his sharp teeth hadn't been very helpful when he was being punched in the mouth.

"A-Are you all right?" the girl asked.

"No," he answered quickly. The room continued to spin as he put his back to the wall. The pain he was feeling from his beating was an adequate distraction from the discomforts caused by his hunger. "Are _you_?" He felt too weak to move, let alone make any move to attack her at the moment. The urge remained, but all of his strength was drained.

"Peachy," she lied.

Xander suddenly remembered that the straps were still hanging against the wall just a few feet to his right. Though the room was still spinning and it felt like one of his ribs had been broken, he closed his eyes and followed the edge of the wall, stopping when he felt both of the cuffs in a position to bind him.

"What are you doing?" the girl finally asked.

"This might hold me long enough for my friends to get here," he explained, his eyes still closed. He tied the straps to his ankles and managed to tighten the strap around his left hand. He finally turned to the to the girl, eyes open. "Are there still gloves over there?"

The girl looked to her side, finding an ugly pair of gloves. "Yes."

With every beat of his heart, his desire to leap at her was becoming stronger; no doubt the effects of his latest shot. "Toss them to me."

She did as she was told.

Xander slipped them on both of his hands, trying to avoid looking into her eyes. "You're not gonna like this last request, but it mayreally _be_ a last request if you don't... I swear I don't _want _to hurt you and that's why I'd be asking you to do this..."

The girl was still silent.

"I-I know I'm just a dangerous monster, but I'd do my best to keep a level head," he continued to assure.

"O-Ok," she agreed nervously. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath, still too worried to look at her. His eyes focused on the final strap dangling at his right side. The pain he'd had in the cafe with Andy was returning more quickly than ever. "There's no way for me to do it myself, so you'll have to tie the last strap, very tightly, around my wrist."

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Outside

Willow was caring a small bag of tools to disable the security system; Buffy held a bag containing a few stakes and three packets of animal blood; Dawn had a dusty, tattered book; Anya carried a bundle of candles and herbs, and had backpack over her shoulder; and Spike wore two large blankets over his back and head. They'd taken blankets from their hotel rooms. One of the two blankets would be given to Xander as they helped him get out of the building.

They all stopped at the center of the parking lot in a small patch of shade cast by a tall evergreen next to a light pole.

Willow handed each of the group a protective crystal pendant and motioned for Dawn and Anya to began to set up the spell. Willow and Buffy carefully avoided the exterior cameras as they circled around the back of the building to disarm the alarm system.

A few moments later, Willow and Buffy rejoined the group. They'd easily disconnected the alarm system and cameras. Willow sat down on the ground at the center of a circle of candles and began to whisper her spell, going quickly into some sort of a trance.

Dawn handed Buffy two more pendants which she put into her bag.

Buffy and Spike quickly ran across the lot and opened the door, quietly shutting it behind them. Spike pulled one blanket from the other as they started down a short entrance hall towards the lab.

Inside the lab were several vampires: two vampires in white coats scribbled in folders at the far end of the room while three guards were filing into an open door to the right. They were all frozen solid in time.

Spike and Buffy made their way to the open door, knowing that it must be where the servant vampires stayed when not needed. If they could make a rough count, they'd know what to expect over the next few nights.

There were no fewer than sixty bunks with just as many vampires congregating throughout the very large, and surprisingly well furnished, room. Most of them were asleep, but some watched television or played pool.

Buffy and Spike turned back to the main room, satisfied that they were sufficiently outnumbered.

"You put the folders in that bag of yours and I'll yell when I find Xander's cage," Spike suggested, dropping the blankets to the floor.

Buffy did as she was told while Spike started down the hall opposite the room of vampires.

After a few moments Spike called in a slightly uneasy voice, "Found him, but this might be a little harder than we thought."

She adjusted the papers in her bag and hurried after Spike. "What...? Why?"

Spike was peering into the small glass window of the door. He didn't answer, but took a step back and kicked the door.

It wouldn't budge.

"On three?" Buffy suggested, dropping her supplies and positioning herself to assist.

Spike gave a nod.

"Three," she called quickly.

They both gave a swift, hard kick to the door. It still wouldn't budge.

Arching his back and preparing for another go, "Again," Spike called.

They kicked again as hard as they could. The door flew off its hinges, falling to the padded floor of the cell.

Buffy gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

Xander was pressing a young woman against him with his right arm around her back, his gloved hand grabbing onto the girl's shirt to keep her in place. Her face was positioned over his left shoulder, but her hair was completely obstructing their view of Xander's face. The girl's feet were laying at his right side, so it seemed that she was standing near the right shackle when he grabbed her. Her arms were limp, one at her right side and the other draped over Xander's right arm.

Buffy took a few steps forward, and knelt by Xander, setting down her bag. She was afraid of what she'd see when she pulled back the hair from the girl's right side. After a moment, she brushed the fallen hair out of his face…

His eyes were closed and his mouth was clamped down on the right side of her neck, blood escaping from the sides of his lips.

Buffy let the girl's hair fall back into place. She went to look into the girl's face, trying to figure out the best way to separate them. The girl was pale and her face expressionless.

The girl, her cheeks streaking with tears, looked almost completely limp. One of her feet was propped against his legs to get some leverage, but the other rested slackly on the floor. Blood was seeping from other recent slash wounds made to her arms and legs.

Buffy calmed herself and considered what to do first. She began to pry at his gloved hand, inching the fabric out of his hand. "I think we have to get the girl away from Xander before anything else. She's too off balance to risk Xander pushing her away when he wakes up. It may be enough to break Willow's spell."

Spike nodded, looking at the situation. He went into Buffy's bag and dug around. "That and Xander might not be himself anymore. Probably best to get the girl as far away from him as fast we can."

Buffy ignored him. She'd managed to get Xander's arm off the girl and positioned a few inches from her back. She reached around the girl's right arm, and began to pull at his jaw from below, trying to open his mouth a little wider.

Spike pulled out a few gauze squares and some medical tape. "She'll be bleedin' pretty bad when time starts up again."

With great effort against the supernatural strength of his jaw, and the spell fighting to glue him in the same position, Buffy managed to open his mouth just enough to maneuver the girl away from his teeth.

They could now see that Xander's bottom canines had also been changed to sharp points, causing an even more severe wound to the girl's neck. All of his fangs were red with her blood.

She did her best to balance the girl against him, far enough from his fangs for her to be safe, but hopefully not too far to interfere with Willow's magic. "Hand me those bandages and then find one of the necklaces."

Spike did as instructed.

Buffy tilted the girl away from Xander and pressed the gauze very tightly against the wound, securing it in place with some tape. When time started and the girl began to bleed, they'd need to redress the injury. "Ready."

Spike tossed the charm around the girl's neck.

She sprang to life, the momentum of her struggle sending her clumsily rolling off of Xander and to the mat, motionless. Her eyes were closed and her face was still limp.

"You're all right," Buffy assured, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

The girl still wasn't moving.

Buffy leaned close, listening for breath. She frantically put her hand to the uninjured side of her neck, checking for a pulse.

"Her heart's stopped," Spike announced quickly, not needing to touch her to tell.

"Then we'll do CPR or get her to the regular hospital next door," Buffy said insisted, positioning her hands over the girl's ribs and beginning compressions.

"No use," Spike said, looking defeated and obviously saddened. "She was dead a little before Willow cast the spell."

Buffy ignored him again, continuing CPR.

"We gotta make this quick, remember?" Spike continued. "Willow can't keep up that spell forever. We gotta grab Xander and go."

Buffy tried her best to re-secure the wrapping. She applied pressure to the bandage and sloppily placed another dressing over the old, taping it down to her neck. "No," Buffy insisted, resuming CPR. She was almost in tears. "Xander's not a killer; he's my best friend and this girl will make it."

Spike put his hand on her shoulder. "It wasn't really Xander; he's _different_ 'cuse of them crazy docs."

Buffy held back her tears, and stopped. "You're right." She sniffed her nose and wiped her eyes, standing slowly as she looked back at the frozen, teeth-bearing figure of Xander. "There might not be much _Xander_ left there." She grabbed onto the girl's hands and dragged her out of the way. Removing the charm from around the girl's neck, she turned to Spike. "I'll be fine, but you should just wait in the lab."

Spike gave a nod, not asking what she had planned. He left the room, and went over to the counters, searching for any more loose papers amongst the boxes and shelves.

Buffy pulled her bag further from Xander and tossed the necklace around his neck, jumping back for her own safety.

Xander came to life. His shockingly red eyes popped open, and he closed his mouth, using his free hand and his lips to catch the last of the blood.

"Xander...?" Buffy began slowly, not sure what sort of answer she'd be given.

Xander's eyes shifted to the dead body a few paces in front of him and to his left. His hand rested over his mouth, eyes widening in shock. "Oh, God… I killed her…" he mumbled.

"Talk fast, but tell me what happened," Buffy ordered. "Willow is doing magic to basically stop time, so we can't stay in here much longer."

Without realizing his own strength, or that he'd forced anything at all, he bought his chained hand towards his face to hide a moment when the chain broke free of the wall. Xander barely noticed, the shackle and chain dangling as he covered his face with the gloves and drew his knees towards his chest.

"Now," Buffy ordered more sternly, looking gravely serious. She could tell he was in shock, but she still wasn't sure what she was going to do after he explained why that poor girl died. "I need to know if I can trust you."

As best he knew how, he forced his fangs to disappear, but he could still feel small points against his bottom and upper lips. He brought his hands away from his face, and looked at her sadly, brown eyes watery. "They gave me the final shot when I was still knocked out. When I woke up they were taking blood from me; they took over a pint," he said quietly, struggling to find his voice again. "They threw her in with me and wanted me to kill her, but when I wouldn't they took her away again and cut her up... When they put her in with me, I was _so _close to giving in, but I thought I could handle it. They gave me one _more_ shot that did _this _to me… I wanted her to chain me up so I wouldn't hurt her, but…" He broke off, his voice fading again. "It looks like they got what they wanted," he said very quietly, eyes wide in shock as he stared at the dead body.

"Do you need any more blood before we go?" she asked quickly. If he hadn't been drained of blood and starving, she was sure that he wouldn't have attacked the girl.

Xander nodded, hating how much he needed, _and_ wanted, it. "You should just leave me here. They can't do much else to me. Or maybe you should just kill me right now…"

"We'll have all their fresh notes, so we should be able to figure out exactly what's happening, and maybe what it will take to get you back," she explained without hesitation as she dug through her bag.

Xander continued as though he hadn't heard the news. "They said it would be slow like before, but that any blood I drank would speed up the changes. But it _wasn't_ slow; I felt it right away and I'm feeling _it_ right now."

"Feeling _what_?" she asked quietly, looking at him finally.

He looked into her eyes, his brown eyes looking a little watery again. "Like I could kill someone else, and that I might not care if I did."

Buffy wanted to change the topic quickly. "Your heart's still beating?"

Xander nodded, understanding that the truth was frightening. "Yes."

"Then we don't have to bring you back to life, which would be nearly impossible. We'll just have to change you _physically_." She pulled out a package of the animal blood and looked back to him. "Faster change or not, you still _need_ it, right? And it will help you _right now_?"

Xander felt a little crazed again. He held out a hand for the package, looking at her. "Give it to me," he said urgently, changing his mind about what sort of risk it would be for him to drink it. There was no way to guarantee that when they were leaving he wouldn't try to kill _her_, just as he had the girl, unless he had a drink.

She watched his eyes cloud to red again as he waited, eyes fixed on the package. He fidgeting a little, obviously needing the blood. Cautiously, she placed the package in his hand and pulled back quickly, still not sure if she could trust him not to grab her the way he'd grabbed that girl.

Xander sank his lengthening teeth into the top corner of plump bag, tearing the corner. He drank all that he could as quickly as possible with surprisingly little mess.

"A-Are you going to be all right around us?" Buffy asked him, rummaging in her bag as though she were looking for something else. She just wanted an excuse not to have to watch Xander. "The actual people in our group, I mean."

Xander dropped the empty bag to the mat, looking away from her as he spoke so he had a moment to hide the fangs and red-stained eyes. "I really don't _want _to stay here but..."

"And you won't." She looked back to him, a little more comfortable about watching him now that he wasn't drinking _blood_. "That's why I'm here, after all, and why Willow's outside right now doing some really strong magic. We should probably hurry for her sake. It's going to drain her."

He looked back to her with very teary, brown eyes. "But I don't know what will happen." Embarrassed, he wiped his eyes. "T-They took blood from me, so I'd be starving... Even though she was trying to _help_ me I couldn't..."

"You don't need to explain," Buffy interrupted, not ready to hear the rest.

Xander shook his head. "I _couldn't stop myself_. I hate to think that the next time it will be someone back at the motel. There isn't anything as strong as this spell that can be done fast enough to stop me from actually _killing_ a person, is there?"

Buffy calmly crawled to Xander and began to untie the straps that held his legs. She gave a reassuring smile as she worked. "_I_ will be there."

Xander began to untie the broken restraint from his wrist.

Buffy stood, offering down a hand to help him to his feet. "What's with the gloves?"

Though he was concerned about how he might react to grabbing a hold of her hand after what he'd done to the last girl, he was also so stiff in his joints from sitting that he allowed her to pull him to his feet. "Fire proof," he answered, realizing that his muscles were beginning to ache, presumably from the latest shot. "And if I'm going to be touching anyone before I know exactly _how_ I've changed, I've also found them to be _claw_ proof, too."

"Ok," Buffy said with a bit of a shocked sound in her voice as she picked up her bag. She hadn't expected to hear the latter reason. "Let's get out of here."

They both headed out of the cell and back into the lab.

Xander was startled to see the way that all of the vampires were frozen in place by the magic.

Spike had gathered a few more sheets containing various calculations and formulas dating back only a week. "They'll miss these, but Willow'll make more sense of this lot if we have 'em all." He went over to Buffy and handed her the stack.

She put them with the others.

Spike turned to Xander, quickly surveying him. "You feelin' ok? You look a bit more like your old self, what with the eyes... but still a bit on the pale side."

"I feel _less_ like my old self," Xander answered quietly.

"But that's not unexpected since you just killed someone," Spike said casually.

"Spike!" Buffy scolded.

"He's right," Xander said quickly, sounding even more melancholy. "I never even ued to hit back when bullies were hitting me." He almost couldn't continue talking. "But now I've actually _killed_ someone… I'm not the same person."

"You know what the last shot's doin' to ya?" Spike continued. "I could hear you talkin' from out here."

He looked back to Spike. "I was too out of it to hear _all_ of the crazy-sounding rant. There was something about making me stronger, _wanting_ to drink blood, _needing_ more to survive, walking in the sun, and looking like a regular human when I want to."

Buffy picked up a blanket and wrapped it around Spike's shoulders and head, covering him so he could survive a prolonged sprint through the sunny park. Buffy began to do the same for Xander.

Spike turned to Buffy "You'll have to give me a hand with picking up Willow. I promised to grab her, but one wrong move and this could slide off."

Xander picked up the other blanket. "I-I'll carry Willow," he offered, pulling the blanket over his head and then adjusting it so he's be able to see. "I could handle getting a little light from flipping the blanket around outside." He looked to Buffy, "Since I have these gloves I don't think I'd hurt her, and we need to get away from this Hospital as fast as..."

Buffy gave a nod of agreement, cutting off any more justifications.

"If I'm outside too long and I get a burn, I... Well… Is there… Is there more…?" Xander stammered shyly, still not sure how to voice what he needed.

Buffy nodded, interrupting him again. "Two more bags." She helped to adjust both blanket one more time, then motioned for them to start out.

The group hurried to the door and they all came running out of the building.

Xander squinted hard as they ran through the sunny lot and over to Willow.

"We're out," Buffy called to Willow.

Willow stopped speaking and toppled over, her eyes barely open.

"Took you guys long enough," Anya complained.

Dawn, Anya, and Buffy all helped to lift Willow to her feet.

Xander quickly picked her up, one arm under her legs and the other behind her back. He was startled by how light she seemed, but he remembered that he'd become much stronger than he ever was before.

They all hurried deep into the park.

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9:45 AM -- Fountain

Buffy helped Xander prop Willow up on the bench that encircled the fountain, and Buffy handed her bag to Dawn for safe-keeping.

Xander adjusted his blanket, sat down next to Willow, and wrapped his blanketed left arm around her to keep her upright. He felt a little anxious from being so close to Willow but knew he could control himself for the time being.

"Are you all right?" Dawn asked Xander quietly, sitting down in front of him on the grass.

Buffy sat down next to Xander. They hadn't told the others about the girl yet, but she wasn't sure when, or if, she should. She watched Willow, hoping it wouldn't be too long before she woke up.

Xander was still adjusting the blanket with his right, gloved hand. He left enough room for his face to be in shade, but remain in sight of the others. "For now." His skin wasn't burning the way it had in the hotel, but he figured that any more light would be too dangerous to risk. If he didn't cover up, it would mean he'd need more blood to keep from hurting his friends, and that would just make him change more quickly. His muscles were feeling sore again, and figured that was only the first thing that was going to happen because of that shot.

Anya turned to Spike. "What about you?"

"Pretty toasty, but not quite barbecued," he called through the blanket. "Could do with a bit more shade before too long."

Willow began looking around, still a little disoriented.

Xander kept his arm behind her back.

"Y-You're ok?" Willow asked weakly in disbelief.

Xander smiled at her a little, grateful for what she had done for him. He adjusted the position of the blanket so he could see her. He nodded.

She wrapped her arm around his blanketed form and hugged him . "You were in there so long… I thought we were too late."

"You kinda were," he said sadly, quickly pushing her back to where she had been. It was much easier for him to concentrate on what was happening when she was farther away from him. "What about you?"

"Dizzy," she admitted quickly, rubbing her eyes with one hand but still a little worried about what he was trying to say. "And what do you mean 'we were'? What were we?"

"Just a little late," Xander said quietly.

"How could we have been late if you're here, right now?" Dawn continued in a panicked voice, looking between Buffy and Xander for an answer. "If you were really a monster, I don't think Buffy would have…" she trailed off, not sure if even she would have left him there.

Buffy looked a Xander, wondering if he was willing to explain.

"I said _a little _late." He looked back to Buffy. He hadn't meant to minimize the fact that he'd drained the life out of some girl the way any other demon would."C-Can I just talk about this later?" Xander asked, dreading their reaction.

"And from the standpoint of a _monster_ who Buffy's saved on more than one occasion, she'd have probably let him out of that place no matter his condition," Spike said in a muffled voice from under the heavy blanket.

"On that oh-so-reassuring note, is everyone ready to head back to the hotel?" Buffy asked, standing.

"I am," Xander said quickly.

Willow nodded a little and Xander helped her to her feet.

Spike also stood, his blanket moving a little and causing a seer.

Despite the bright sun in the sky, the weather in the area that time of the year was much colder than any of them were used to. They quickly made their way to the car and headed back to the hotel.

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10:25 AM Plains Motel - Hall

While in the car, Willow fully recovered from the spell and had taken the opportunity to look through the papers. She was optimistic that the new information would be useful but warned that for complete accuracy, she may have to do some experiments of her own to determine the extent of Xander's transformations. Xander agreed absently, trying to keep his mind off the crowded seating in the car. Willow could tell he wasn't going to talk, so she stowed the papers in her own bag, leaving only the animal blood inside the bag Buffy had been carrying.

Everyone trailed down the hall, glad to have Xander safely back at the motel. Since none of them had slept much last night, out of worry for their friend, they were eager to sleep for a few hours.

Xander handed his blanket back to the others, and Dawn handed him the bag with the remaining packages of blood. He opened the door to his room. He felt like he really needed another pint of blood and several hours of sleep because he was emotionally and physically exhausted from all he'd gone through that night.

"Wait a sec," Willow called to him, handing her backpack to Buffy.

Buffy and the others trailed into their room and shut the door.

Xander turned. "I need some rest."

"When can I talk with you?"

"Just wake me when you find some new info, or when you need me for something," he answered flatly. "You should have plenty of stuff to look through before you need the lab-rat, himself."

Willow sighed. "All right. Well, when we were getting blood for Spike's stay here, and some groceries for the rest of us, we decided that sometime today we can get Anya to pop over to the hospital and steal some _human _blood…That is, if you can't just use animal like Spike… And be sure to put up the _Do Not Disturb_ sign so a maid wouldn't get the chance to find anything or to open the curtains..." She realized that she was rambling and stopped. All she wanted was for him to feel like he was still part of the group, just the way he made her feel after she became so magically powerful.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

They were silent for a moment.

"Is that all?" Xander asked, feeling almost as ill as he had throughout the night.

Willow nodded.

"Then have a nice day." He turned and stepped into his room.

"Wait," she called again.

He turned around, looking unjustifiably irritated.

"If you wake up, it's all right if you join us next door," she continued. "They're all just as worried about you as I am."

Xander nodded, giving a weak smile. "Ok, but _right now_ it's better if I'm alone."

"A-All right," she said quickly, finally understanding his hurry. "Sleep tight." She was about to turn, but she thought of something else. "Just one more thing."

This time Xander couldn't even force a smile, but he turned back, ready to hear what she was going to say. He felt like he was going to fall over.

"Y-You said you were going to tell is why it took Buffy and Spike so long to get you out of the building," Willow said shyly. "I know you said it'd be later, but I just wanted to make sure things were ok with you."

That was the last question he'd expected her to ask when he was this tired. He didn't have the energy to explain what happened to that girl. "Ask Buffy," he said quietly, looking away from her. "She knows what happened. Let her know I said it was OK."

She nodded a little and went back to her room as Xander closed his door.

Xander pulled the clammy gloves off his hands and dropped them next to the refrigerator. Opening the small door, he pulled the packages of animal blood out of the bag and put them on a shelf. His fingers grew to sharp claws as he looked at the bag, and he could feel the strangely sharp teeth in his mouth. Fighting what he was feeling, he didn't pick up one of the packages. Instead, he shut the door. As long as he could resist it, he would.

Laying the empty hand-bag on top of the refrigerator again, he went to the door, opened it, quickly put the "Do not disturb" sign on the knob, and shut the door again. The last thing he wanted was for any maid to unexpectedly enter the room before he finally had more to eat.

From there, he went into the bathroom and turned on the light. He put his hands on the edge of the counter. His fingernails were longer and tapered to sharp points. Slouching forward, he looked into the mirror as carefully as he had in the bathroom at the park. The iris of his eyes had become red while the whites were severely bloodshot, and his skin was bleached paper-white. He opened his mouth and looked at his long teeth, shocked to see points on both the top and bottom canines.

"This is _really_ happening..." he whispered at his reflection, as though it were a surprise.

Bowing his head, he put one hand to his forehead, and ran his fingers through his hair with a calming sigh. He look up again. His brown eyes and only slightly pale skin had returned, but the pointed teeth and claws had disappeared completely. He looked almost how he did before this all started.

If he gave into having the _drink_, he'd lose himself even more quickly. He'd already _killed_ a person, so he didn't know how bad things would get once the chemicals had taken effect. Too depressed about becoming any more of a monster, he turned off the light and crawled onto the bed.

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1:15 PM Plains Motel - Xander's Room

Xander woke to a sensation in his stomach only comparable to the gunshot he'd received to the arm; it was a stronger pain than anything he'd ever felt before, even when he was in the cell and when Andy had helped him inside the room.

Taking shallow breaths, he tried to gracefully roll out of bed, but instead fell to the floor, knocking the lamp and the alarm clock loudly off the nightstand. As he tried to stand, the pain faded to the ache it had been hours earlier. He pulled himself to his feet at the foot of the bed, almost within reach of the refrigerator.

In the distance he heard a door shut, then came a knock at his.

"Are you all right?" Buffy called through the door. "We heard a crash."

Before he could answer, the pain hit him again, sending him falling to his knees. He couldn't help but let out a small call as he doubled over with one hand back to his stomach and the other one on the floor. His fingernails were back to claws and he could feel that the fangs had returned.

Buffy knocked again quickly. "Xander? Answer me."

Suddenly, he felt the urge to attack Buffy; to jump to his feet, rip open the door, and just grab her so he could make the pain stop.

"Answer me or I'm going to open the door," she threatened.

"No," Xander called loudly through clenched teeth. "You can't. Just stay away from me." He forced himself to his knees and, though it felt like it was ripping apart his insides, he stretched to reach the refrigerator.

"But are you all right?" Buffy asked quickly.

He opened the door and grabbed the package, falling back to the floor as he drank. The blood tasted different from the way it had in the cell; it seemed less satisfying and a little foul.

"_Are you all right?_" she demanded after a few moments of silence.

Xander finished the package. The pain lessened quickly and faded all together. He leaned his back against the foot of the bed, glad to feel even a little better for the moment.

"I'm using the extra key," Buffy warned. Digging into her pocket, she pulled out the card key and put it in the slot, opening the door quickly.

Xander looked to her, not bothering to hide his face. He squinted a little as the hall lights poured in, brightly contrasting the dimness of the room. One shaft of light coming in over her shoulder clearly illuminated him.

Buffy showed evident shock at seeing the chilling change to the color of his eyes: the irises were still blood red, but the whites and pupils were pure black.

He held up the empty bag to show her. "For the most part, crisis averted." He easily tossed the empty package onto the counter next to the television.

Buffy stepped into the room and closed the door. She went over to the edge of the bed, righted the lamp, and turned it on.

Xander stood, stepping away from her and leaning against the counter, just beside the refrigerator. The restless longing he had to attack her was still present, but he did all he could to restrain it.

She turned back to him. "Do you feel any different than you did this morning?"

"Feel _and_ look," Xander answered simply, wiping any remaining blood from his lips with the back of his right hand. Looking away with his somber expression, he finally allowed his face to relax into its human form. His left hand was holding to the counter to keep himself tethered to his position.

With a restless sigh, she continued, "Will we be playing twenty questions this morning or are you going to open up about what you're going through?" She took a seat on the edge of the bed and motioned for him to also sit down.

Xander waved away the offer to sit, a little skittish. He remained where he was, positing his right hand on the counter in the same manner as he had his left.

"I just want to check up on you since you haven't really been too chatty... At least let me know any of the big things."

Xander looked around the room a little before answering. "Do you remember how when we were back at school during a _big_ test and no one was making a noise when, suddenly, you'd have to sneeze?"

Buffy nodded. "It always made a few people jump and look around for a minute. It was probably for the best though; concentrating too hard isn't good."

He continued easily. "You'd hold it, but you know it's still borderline; you let up for a split second and out to comes."

Buffy was a little confused, not understanding how it would connect to any imaginable analogy. "It was just a sneeze."

"If you manage _not_ to sneeze, and it passes, the urge hits you again five minutes later, right?"

"So?" Buffy asked. "Get to the moral of the story already," she urged impatiently.

He looked into her eyes. "That's how it's feeling for me right now, and how it was in the cell before I attacked that girl... In stead of sneezing it's _attacking_... _biting_... _killing_..." He paused. "I let up for that one moment and that girl died."

Before Buffy could respond, a few frantic knocks came to the door, "Guys? Can I come in? It's really important," Willow called. "I found something in the papers."

"Come in," Xander called, looking to the door.

Without warning, the pain he'd had when he woke up hit again just as powerfully. He cried out, doubling over and sliding to the floor again just as Willow opened the door. The shock and reawakened hunger brought back his fangs, claws, and darkened eyes.

Buffy and Willow rushed to his side, trying to help him off the floor. They dragged him to the bed and knelt on the floor beside him.

"D-Did he drink a package of the animal blood?" Willow asked Buffy quickly.

"One," Xander said with clenched teeth as he took shallow breaths. "Do you know what's...?" His words were cut off by another stabbing blow. He tightly squeezed the comforter with one of his hands, bracing as the urge to jump at one of them was almost more unbearable than the pain.

Willow nodded, struggling to spit the words out as quickly as possible. "One of the demons they just added, the Bijou, basically doesn't get _anything_ out of drinking animal blood. When they drink it, it goes right through their system, then it's like they haven't had anything to drink at all." She gave a small, nervous laugh and began to ramble. "It's kinda like Chinese food for us. You eat a ton and even have leftovers and you're still hungry after you've…"

"Wil, focus," Xander prompted weakly.

Willow nodded, explaining the rest, "Bijous can only drink _human_ blood and blood from certain other demons..."

"Since they wanted him to hurt people, they made it so he couldn't get around _not_ drinking human blood," Buffy observed.

The pain faded again, but he still held tightly to the blanket to restrain himself. He looked to them. "How _are _we going to get around this?"

"Anya is at the hospital now, stealing some blood," Willow answered quickly. "Since this is such an emergency, she teleported so it would only take a few minutes."

"It was bearable for at least _a few_ minutes with the animal blood... Just toss me a package on your way out and don't come back until Anya gets here."

"We can't just leave you alone," Willow protested.

"You both have to get away from me," he demanded loudly with slightly clenched teeth. The pain struck him as hard as ever and he let out another muffled cry. He shut his eyes tightly, trying not to look at either of them. "I killed that girl today when she couldn't leave the room; at least you guys have the option."

"Wait… _Killed_?" Willow asked in shock. She looked to Buffy. "He wanted you to tell us, so I think you should have."

"You mean you didn't tell them?" Xander asked.

"I thought it might be better if you could be with me to help explain what happened before Spike and I got there," Buffy said quickly.

"Killed?" Willow squeaked again, this time looking at Xander.

"It wasn't like I was just sitting in the cage thinking 'Hey, her neck sure looks tasty.'" He explained defensively. "I was tied to a wall, so they decided to steal a pint from _me,_ by way of draining it into a bag." His words were cut off by another sharp pain.

Buffy jumped up and went to the refrigerator. Pulling out a bag, she quickly brought it back to Xander. She held the package out for him to take. "Here!"

"Careful," Willow warned her quickly, "because of the whole _claw thing_ I found."

He snatched it quickly and drank, feeling the pain dissolve with each heartbeat. Drinking enough to stop the pain, he pulled the package away from his mouth, disgusted by the taste. "Thank you," he said to Buffy before looking between them both. "If you want to stay here, could you _please_ keep some distance?"

The girls stood and went to the couch by the window.

"Better?" Buffy asked.

Xander nodded. "A little." He looked to Willow. "They untied me and threw the girl in. They gave me another needle full of something, and told me I was supposed to bite her. I wouldn't so they cut up the girl, making her bleed enough to…"

"…Make any ole' creature of the night go a little mad?" Spike suggested as he came into the room. "It was their favorite tactic back in the day."

Xander nodded a little. "Since when do you get to join this little shindig?"

"Since I know what they put you through if they're keeping with the same stale bits," he said simply. Spike looked at Willow. "They threw her in and put more stuff in his system. They didn't even give the bloodiness thing much of a chance to work before resorting to the latest mix." He looked to Xander with a smile. "That cover it?"

Xander nodded a little. "But I still want you to get out."

"I tried to tell them that making the victim more tempted was enough, but scientists have their own way of doing things," he continued.

Xander continued to glare at him.

"Fine… I didn't need the show and tell, anyway…" he said, heading back out the door.

"B-But how did the actual biting happen?" Willow asked Xander, fear still in her high voice.

"What did you mean by _claw thing_?" Xander asked suddenly, changing the topic to avoid retelling the actual attack.

"Well," Willow began timidly, understanding his reasons, "being scratched, or breaking the skin for whatever reason with your fingernails, might be poisonous to humans. The demon they added for this ability was called a Deshkleave. That's why your nails were so dark before: it's one of their traits."

He sat up and leaned his back against the headboard, looking away from them again. Looking at them made him a little restless. "What does it do to a person who was poisoned?"

"For about fourteen to sixteen hours afterwards, the person can't heal their injuries," Willow explained with more confidence. "Like if they got just a tiny scratch that drew blood, they'd keep bleeding until the poison was out of their system. Or until they have a blood transfusion, in which case, it would be just over an hour before the poison is thin enough for a wound to _stop_ bleeding."

"I figured those gloves would come in handy for something," Xander said quietly.

Willow nodded. "It's an extremely potent anticoagulant. It actually targets the platelets in a creature's blood and destroys them. When new blood cells are created, or enter the system through some sort of transfusion, the new blood is unaffected."

Xander nervously glanced to the girls, feeling the effects of the animal blood all ready beginning to fade. "What's the point of that?"

"It makes it almost impossible for them to loose in a fight," Buffy answered from a combat perspective. "If all it took was a few scratches and a broken rib for the opponent to die from internal bleeding, then almost _any_ person they went up against wouldn't do them much damage. That, or the person wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone that they'd seen a demon."

"If it's a vampire who's scratched," Willow began to explain, "they'd be able to start healing after just a pint of blood; the poison lasts twenty minutes after that, tops, and a second pint would allow their healing to start instantly."

Xander looked away, again feeling the impulse to attack them.

Anya suddenly appeared in front of the door with an armload of plastic, pint-sized packages of blood. She headed towards the counter and refrigerator. "This should be enough for a while, unless all that hype in the folders is right and he needs," she lowered her voice as though she were an old scientists, "_at least ten units during a twenty-four hour span just keep him in control of his own actions _." She dropped them all on the counter. "And with the average person only having ten to twelve pints in their body, needing _ten_ is enough to kill two or three people if that's his only source of blood."

Xander got up, more than ready for the pain and hunger to dissipate. "H-How much actually kills a person?"

"Five can do it, but usually anything over three will put them into shock," Anya explained simply, putting the bags into the refrigerator quickly. "And that can be deadly on its own."

He realized that he must have taken even more from that girl than he though. He'd lost track of time but as it was happening he would have sworn he'd taken less than a pint when time was frozen. Since she died, he'd taken at least _five _from her. "And it said in the papers that I needed that much?" Xander asked, even more frightened by what was a part of him.

Anya picked up the last package and held it out to Xander. "Yes," she answered a little more compassionately, as though she finally acknowledged that the changes were a _bad_ thing to have happened to him.

He dropped the bag of animal blood into the waste paper bin next to the bed and snatched the package quickly from Anya. He got to his feet and went to the desk where, this time, he used scissors to cut an opening at the very top corner. Smelling the blood, he knew that there was nothing in the world that he wanted more.

This was a very shameful moment for him. Nearly a third of his life had been spent _stopping _blood-drinkers who would routinely bit defenseless teen-aged girls as though they were _just_ _food_. Now, he was about to _enjoy_ drinking _human blood_ because of a squad of smarter-than-average vampires. In the cell, when he'd killed the girl, he'd _wanted_ the blood, but he hadn't _liked_ it very much. She only died because he didn't really realize that he'd taken so much of her blood. Since then, he had been changed even more, and knew that he would feel very differently about it.

"What's wrong?" Anya asked in an impatient tone. "Why aren't you drinking it yet? You _know_ it's the only thing that will stop you from killing any _people_..."

Xander looked up from the package and nodded, turning his back to his friends. "Any _more _people," he correctly so softly that Anya hadn't heard. He didn't want them to see how much he'd be enjoying his drink. He took a fast swallow from the slit and it was the best thing he'd ever tasted. Still guilty about every drop he was loving, he reminded himself as he drank that Anya was exactly right: it was the only thing that would keep him from hurting another person.

Anya turned to Willow. "Why didn't you tell him about the whole _he uses an entire person worth of blood in a day _thing right when you came in here?"

As though it had been the only liquid to enter his system for months, Xander had all ready finished off the entire package. With this aspect of the process, it was exactly how it had been in the cell: he hardly realized he'd had anything to drink even though it would have been enough to make a _victim _ill. For the first time in days he felt like a _normal person_ as the pointed teeth disappeared, and he saw that his bag-clutching hands had been freed from the grotesque claws. He felt stronger and there was absolutely no impulse to harm any person in that room.

"She didn't have much of a chance since Xander was getting sick by the time she got here," Buffy defended. "Besides, we got a little side tracked with what happened in the cell and then on to the _poisonous claws_ came up first."

"He said what happened in the cell?" Anya whined.

Xander turned back to the girls with more optimism in his brown eyes than he'd managed to show all week. "What else did you find about what's in me?"

Willow answered. "I made some notes, but they're in the other room so..."

"I think I can manage to stay over there for while," Xander said with small smile. "I know I didn't want to hear about it before, but if I'd have listened, I might have known how to stop myself in the cell."

The girls were a little apprehensive. He hadn't been eager to be close to _any _of them since they'd gotten there because of how dangerous he might be. Now, he was _wanting_ to join them. Plus, Willow had mentioned to the others that he wasn't even slightly interested in knowing about the demons that had been put into him, but now, with another drastic reversal, he was asking to know.

He realized that they must think he's not _himself_ anymore just because he genuinely felt better and was finding his own way to cope with the situation. "I finally feel like _me_ again and since I don't know how long it will be before things go back to their literally _Hellish_ state, I'd like to just _be _there with you guys. If I go back to the way I was a few minutes ago, if it gets that bad again, I don't want _any_ of you to get within ten feet of me unless it's to hand me a bag from that frig."

All of the girls were relived that they'd been wrong and gave him a smile.

"We only thought it was different of you because..." Buffy began.

"I understand," Xander interrupted easily. "I have no idea how I could feel so good right now when I'm actually terrified. I've changed somehow, and none of us know _how_ for sure... so caution is the key. I'll do anything it takes to keep the rest of you safe... but right now I have to say I feel like a regular human who just had a bit too much caffeine."

"And you changed your mind about wanting information on the demons," Willow added. "You were set against it before."

Xander turned to Willow with a nod. "Talking about _this_... about _me_ being in the spotlight for the first time. It wasn't like I just bought a new shirt and you can all be like _Wow! What's it made of? Does it need to be dry-cleaned? How long before the color fades?_ or even _Take it back; it's ugly!_..." He wasn't sure how to describe exactly how he felt about this, so he paused a moment. "In this case, I can't get past _Take it back; it's ugly!_... I need to know all those other sorts of things, but to be _that_ matter-of-fact about it just feels wrong..."

The girls nodded in understanding. Using clothing as an analogy was always a safe way to get his point across to those girls.

"And I guess it has been wrong of us," Buffy agreed. "But we don't want to treat it like it's going to last _forever_. Have we really been that bad?"

Xander nodded a little. "As far as the poking, prodding, and pushing for info goes, it hasn't quite crossed the line into humiliating." He sighed, trying to force himself to explain the rest of what he was thinking. "We don't know that there _is _a way to change me back, but if I don't know what's going on with me, I might do something and inadvertently hurt one of you... Like if it were a handshake, rather then a scratch, to poison someone..." He looked to Willow. "This is probably the best time for you to do _your_ experiments. Life isn't peachy and won't be unless _everyone_ is safe, and, ideally, when I'm back to being the simple construction worker whose diet _doesn't_ consist of blood."

"All right, Xand," Buffy said in a more trusting tone, glad that they had cleared the air. "Let's go."

They all headed out, Xander grabbing the gloves as he left.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2:15 PM Plains Motel - Room 305

The girls trailed in, followed by Xander. He was wearing the gloves.

"Feeling a little more socialable?" Spike asked from the couch across the room. He was looking through one of Willow's spell books.

Xander nodded. "Not really, but the minimally rested guinea pig is still reporting for duty."

Willow went over to the folders she'd scattered on the floor in the center of the room.

"It's good to see that you're feelin' better," Dawn said, peering over the top of the computer screen apprehensively.

Buffy pulled a chair next to Dawn, looking to the screen.

Xander sat down on the small loveseat next to the curtain-covered window and looked to it as though he were looking outside.

Anya picked another spell book up off the floor and joined Spike, sitting at the far end of the couch.

"Did you manage to get some rest?" Dawn continued stupidly, still unsure of how his behavior may have changed. The fact that Xander hadn't been willing to talk about what happened in the lab made her even more nervous about what could have happened. As far as she knew, he still hadn't mentioned the event s to anyone except Buffy.

Xander could hear her heart fluttering with either fear or anxiety. He ignored his insight and went on as though he wasn't effected by her feelings. "Considering how everything's been so bad when I'm awake, I'd have to say I slept pretty good."

Willow picked up certain papers and a pen, and went over to Xander, stopping in front of him. "Can I sit next to you?" she asked as though they were picking seats for the year on the first day of elementary school. "I mean, with being so close to you when before..."

"Definitely, you can sit," Xander answered quickly, sitting up a little straighter to ensure she had enough space. "I'll just let you know if it becomes a problem."

Willow sat down beside him. "A lot of these papers were really confusing. They mentioned a lot about the other people who have been changed and still being kept in the rooms. First, we need to figure out how many of the things that the scientists _wanted_ to happen in you have _actually_ happened."

He gave a nod. "Sounds good, but I hate to admit that the way I am now might not be the end of the changes."

Willow nodded absently, and shuffled around her papers. She pulled out a list and laid it on top of the stack. "I went through the papers and wrote down all the things they _wanted_ to change." She tilted the paper so Xander could see the words more easily.

He looked at it.

The list was a page long and organized into specified sub-categories by bullet-points.

"What sort of thing did they add that makes me need so much _you-know-what_ to keep me feeling normal?" Xander asked her, having been curious since Anya mentioned that fact.

"It's a Lazlon demon," Willow answered easily, pointing to one of the bulleted areas. She'd nearly memorized every creature on the list, too traumatized by her best friend's situation to be capable of forgetting any of it. "All they do, every waking moment, is hunt and kill. They have such a fast metabolism that they have eat almost all the time. The Vampires hoped to balance the _needing to feed all the time_ trait with the other demons so you could pass for human long enough to find a victim."

Xander realized that was probably why he'd felt that way in the other room. "And how did they manage this in the first place? All of _this_," he gestured to himself, "is like something out of one of those twisted, nineteenth-century horror novels... or at least out of Marvel Comics."

"That was one of the first things I asked Spike, and I checked it in the papers to see if it was right. There's some sort of catalyst in a vampire's blood, and general genetic structure, that leaves a human body open to alteration. When a person is turned into a normal vampire that's what allows the host to be changed to meet the needs of the demon. These scientists used _that_ to pick and choose what would be changed, and what would stay human. Trouble is, it's like dropping a glass of water into a swimming pool from about a hundred feet in the air: it might hit the part of the pool you wanted it to, but the slightest breeze and they don't know _where_ that water's going to land."

"So that's why they've been having so many problems with getting things right since World War II," Xander said. "And still having so may problems these days."

Willow nodded. She laid down the papers and picked up a half-full, cold cup of coffee from the window sill next to her. "Number one on my list of tests is that fire thing you do with your hands."

Xander nodded. "We've already established that I can do it well enough to push through a brick and kill a vampire."

Willow shook her head handing him the cup. "Not just melt and destroy, but actually control it."

He took the cup.

"This is the kinda stuff I'd practice when I was in England, and trying to focus my power into a specific cause," Willow explained. "Now, take off your gloves and just try to heat it enough to make it steam without breaking the cup or making it boil."

Doing as instructed, he removed one glove and leaned forward so if the cup broke, it wouldn't spill all over the couch. He wrapped his hand around the cup and felt it become just a little warm in his hands.

Steam began to rise from the cup.

He put it into his gloved hand and offered it back to Willow. "I guess this mean that their newest model comes with a built-in microwave."

Willow waved it away. "Now make it bubble without breaking the cup."

He put it back in his bare hand. Before he'd put much effort into it, it was bubbling almost out of the cup.

"Take it easy," Willow warned quickly, leaning away from the nearly splattering liquid.

Forcing his hand to cool, the bubbles fell to a slow ripple.

"That's very good," she said as she picked up her paper and made a note. "We won't need the cup from here on."

Xander set the cup on the table in front of him.

The others couldn't help but stare at what was going on. Buffy and Dawn hid their curiosity by looking a little past their computer screen to watch what was happening in the corner.

Willow examined her list. "Ok, a few questions will be next: _Do you need blood to think clearly?_"

Xander nodded a little, surprised by the blunt question. He figured it had been answered in the room a few minutes ago.

"_Does it_," she quickly lowered her voice to a whisper, remembering what question she'd actually written down. "_Does it make you want to attack a person to get it?_"

Xander nodded slowly.

She kept her voice just as low as she continued. "_Do you enjoy drinking the blood?_"

One more time, Xander nodded slowly, guilty about it.

Willow looked over her list again, then turned to Buffy. "Buffy? Can you get me your bag of Slayer supplies, please? And unscrew those two steel bar from the bed?"

Buffy looked up from Dawn's computer screen and gave a nod, heading into the bedroom for it.

"Now what?" Xander asked nervously, thinking that Buffy had only wooden stakes in her bag.

Willow waited a moment before continuing nervously. "Crosses, holy water, sunlight, and how fast you can heal..."

Xander raised his eyebrows, still a little nervous about it all.

"Don't look so worried," Spike called from the couch. "I'm guinea-pig-number-two. After all, you'll be wearing those _oh-so-stylish_ gloves until we know whether your _talons_ will do the rest of them," he gestured to the girls, "any serious damage."

Buffy came back into the room with her bag and the solid metal bars. She went over and dropped the items, returning to Dawn's side.

Willow dug into the bag and pulled out a small cross, a bottle of water, and the bars. She offered the cross to Xander.

Xander took it with a gloved hand, to prevent any possible scratch, and then placed it in his bare one. He felt nothing. "I'm fine."

She opened the bottle of water, stuck her finger in, and wiped the droplet across the back of his hand.

"Nothing," Xander answered. He handed the cross to her.

Willow put the bottle and cross back into the bag, glad that he wasn't hurt by the anti-vampire supplies. She offered him the one-inch-thick bar.

"And what do I do with this?" he asked, taking it.

"Most vampires can bend that if they put a little muscle into it." She held up the two-inch-thick bar. "If you do bend that you can try this other one because the Bijou, the one I mentioned when we were in your room, you're supposed to be stronger than most demons."

Xander gave a disbelieving nod. _If I could do this_, he began to think, _then I'd have been able to get out of that lab_. Taking off the second glove, he started bending the bar with no effort.

She offered the second bar, a little startled by the ease with which he'd bent something so strong.

He laid the bent one on his lap and took the thicker one. Just as he had the first, he took the thicker one in both hands and began to bend. With just as much ease, it began to curve in his hands. He was shocked. Even working on the construction site, he'd never considered himself very strong, but now he was bending the same type of metal his crew used to reinforce buildings.

"That's good enough," Willow said quickly. "Since it's one of the main parts of the bed, we have to leave it in a good condition or suffer a bigger bill."

Xander stopped bending it in that direction and did his best to straighten it back to the way it was. Within seconds, it looked as though it hadn't been bent at all. He did the same with the smaller one and offered them back to Willow.

By then, all of the others were openly staring at what was happening on that smaller couch.

Willow took the bars and laid them on the table, still jarred by how strong Xander was and what it would mean if he lost control. "Now, sunlight." She stood and went to the curtain string.

Xander stood and stepped back a little so he wouldn't be bathed in the light until he chose to be.

She pulled the curtains open a few feet.

Xander squinted a little, then quickly put out his arm, just as he had the last time they'd tested this.

"How does that feel?" Willow asked.

Xander gave a shrug and stepped into the light, still squinting. It stung his eyes a little, but he tried to hide exactly how much. "Still a little hard on the eyes, but just a normal _warm_ otherwise."

"How about the whole _speed of healing_ thing next?" Willow suggested, not yet closing the blinds.

Xander gave a somber nod, not looking forward to this test. The last injury he had was a gunshot, and that seemed to heal quickly.

Willow crossed though the room and went into the kitchen, pulling out a knife from a drawer. She came back to Xander, joining him in the light of the window. "I-I..." She wasn't sure how to proceed.

"It's ok," Xander said quickly, "I can do it, maybe. Masochism wasn't exactly taught in demon school, but if it's for the greater good and won't leave a scar, I think I'll manage." He held out his hand for the knife.

She handed it to him.

Taking the knife, he stepped out of the light, finally warm enough to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Were you getting too warm?" Willow asked quickly.

Xander looked to her, nodding nervously. "A little too warm, but no burning." He looked back to his hand and the knife. He brought the blade horizontally across his left palm. The blackish blood pooled where the blade had touched, but the pain disappeared almost instantly. Still holding the knife, he used the pad of his hand and his wrist to wipe away the blood, revealing that the mark had all ready completely healed and left no sign at all of the injury.

"Wow…" Dawn couldn't help letting it escape from her mouth.

Xander crossed through the light and went into the kitchen, laying the knife in the sink and rinsing his hand off. The smell of the blood on his skin had begun to re-awaken what he'd been feeling earlier.

Thinking they'd all been caught, everyone turned back to their previous chores.

Xander went back over to Willow for further instructions on what to do, staying just out of the light. It only hurt his eyes, but the general heat from the light was a little overpowering for his cold skin. "What did that little test point to?"

"Zurika," she answered simply. "Unfortunately they're not very…well… _socialable_."

Xander gave a sincere laugh. After all he'd been through, he didn't know why anyone would try to shelter him from bad news. "Give me the harsh version; I can take it."

Willow nodded and picked up the paper on which she'd made the list of demons. Skimming it, she found the line and read the notes she'd made. "They're extremely violent and known to kill for pleasure. They heal instantly." She looked at him. "That's why I had this test." She went back to the paper. "They're apt to react instinctively if put under physical or mental stress with no reasoning skills when this happens. If they are disturbed when they're sleeping, the same reactions can be expected." She looked back to him. "And that's about all I could find in the notes other than life spans, some possible physical traits you don't seem to have, and ways they can be killed."

Xander sighed. "That explains why I reacted to Andy the way I did a couple days ago."

Willow nodded as she laid the paper back onto the pile. "Spike?" she called as she went to the curtains and pulled the string to close them. "I-I guess we're ready for you." The whole idea of needing to run these types of experiments with the participants being people she knew so well was still uncomfortable.

Spike nodded, and stood, taking off his leather jacket.

Willow went over to the curtains, closing them finally.

"But you're sure about this?" Xander asked both Willow and Spike nervously.

Spike nodded as he came over to the others. "Apparently I'm the only one here who wouldn't be _killed _by this little test."

Unable to resist it any longer, Anya, Buffy, and Dawn returned to watching what was happening.

Spike held out his right arm, his hand a fist as he braced for whatever pain might come. "Give it a decent slash. It won't leave much of a scar and a good cut will prove this thing one way or another."

Xander saw that everyone was looking at him. Allowing his fingernails to grow to their sharp points, he could feel the same sort of change to his teeth and the room seemed to brighten for his demonic eyes. He looked around nervously to his friends.

Dawn gave a bit of a squeak. She was the only one other than Spike who hadn't seen him that way. Spike looked a little nervous suddenly, despite his previous reassurances.

Xander looked back to Spike, and brought one clawed hand to Spike's arm, swiftly pulling his sharp fingernails across his skin. The cuts were deeper than he'd expected they'd be.

Spike's teeth were a little clenched, and, with the slice of his skin, he let out a bit of a grunt. A small amount of red blood pooled on the surface, just as it had with Xander's injury.

The smell of Spike's blood affected Xander as greatly as the scent of any _human's_ blood. Dizzy and a little crazed, he backed away as he shut his eyes, bowed his head, and put his hands to his forehead as he plopped onto the loveseat again.

"Are you all right?" Willow asked Xander, taking a step closer to him.

"This is just too much…" he said vaguely, his head still bowed. "Why did this have to happen to me?"

Willow wasn't sure how to reply.

"Just give me a minute," Xander begged, one claw-wielding hands held out in a manner meant for her to back away. He put his hand back to his forehead.

Willow stopped where she was and took a few steps back, not sure what would be a safe distance.

After a moment, he lowered his hands to the edge of the couch, but kept his head bowed and eyes closed.

"I'll get cleaned up. A gash that deep'd close-up on its own in ten minutes, otherwise we'll have the answer," Spike mentioned, heading for the bathroom. The cut continued to sting as though it were still being torn.

Xander stayed frozen in the same position, trying to push his urge for violence away.

"Hey," Anya whispered, motioning for the girls to join her at the far side of the room.

Buffy, Willow, and Dawn all went over to Anya.

"What is it?" Dawn asked, also at a whisper.

"How is all of this going to work?" Anya asked, a little frustrated. "Even a few drops of _Vampire_ blood make him go looney now. How on earth will we manage to get rid of all of those other creatures in that lab if he gets that skittish around _one small injury_ which he, in pint of fact, inflicted on a willing recipient? And if he takes the opportunity to use his claws on some other creature while helping us, he'll have to sit in a corner until the blood goes away."

"I'm fine," Xander called, looking at them with his brown eyes again. His hearing was sharp enough to catch every whispered word as clearly as a shout in his ear.

They all turned back to him.

"Yeah, after _a minute_," Anya spat back. "If we're in a big fight and any of us get even a scratch, there won't be _a minute_ for you to get your head back together."

Xander shook his head. "You don't understand."

"Then _help_ us to understand," Buffy begged.

"You haven't even _tried_ to and you've been back with us for hours," Willow added.

He gave a slow nod. "What I was feeling, what I _feel_, every time I smell blood... it's a rush of adrenaline. I hate it, but it's exhilarating and actually seems _good_."

The girls listened, _trying_ to take in all that he was saying.

"If I were in a fight, it would be a good thing until there were no more Vampires to kill, then there'd be nothing left to spend that burst of energy on..."

"So it's not that you're ill, or regular _crazy_," Dawn began, "but more like the demon in you wants to do the _demon thing_ but it doesn't _need_ to do it to a human?"

Xander nodded. "The _demon thing_ unfortunately being wanting to bite, kill, or generally attack anything that so much as twitches. There's nothing _twitching_ around here except for all of you and other normal people in this building, so that's why I need _a minute_ when someone is around."

The girls were sorry they'd reacted to him the way they had.

"I know I have issues, but if I _weren't_ coping and able to control this..." He looked away shyly. "...One of you would probably be dead by now."

"But you're back to your Xander-_esque_ self, for now?" Dawn asked.

Xander nodded one more time, looking back to them. "For the most part." He sighed. "I feel so drained that I know I'm not making any sense, assuming I make much sense on a regular _Xander-ific_ basis..." Shaking his head a little, he rubbed his eyes and looked back to them. "It seems like all I've been doing is sleeping..."

"The papers also noted that there may be grogginess during the day," Willow began. "Balford Demons can't stay awake during the day (they were hoping to balance it with the Guylesh who are asleep at night and a little stronger than vampires during the day), but Balfords are _very_ strong at night."

Xander stood. "Which just means I'll probably be _more_ dangerous when the sun goes down."

"I don't know about _more_ _dangerous_," Willow corrected. "They're peaceful; kinda like the Kralos..." She smiled. "Why do you think so many strange, but nice, people are always on the nightshifts? It's 'cuse they're probably Balford Demons; they're all over the place and look exactly like normal people."

"Or the nightshift people are horror movie addicts, insomniacs, vampires, and other demons. One or two might just be _normal _people," Xander pointed out, "who don't even know how many bad things are walking the streets when the sun goes down." He rubbed his eyes again quickly. They were tired and the light in the room was beginning to bother them again.

"Maybe you _should_ just get some more sleep," Anya suggested in a rude tone, closing her book. "It seems to be the most harmless thing for you to be doing right now."

Xander quickly turned to leave, sick of Anya's remarks.

Willow followed. "You don't have to leave."

He stopped at the door and turned around. "She's right. If I'm asleep, I won't be _killing_ anyone."

"What about your wanting to spend time with us?" Buffy asked, joining Willow a few paces behind Xander. "The way you said you wanted to?"

Xander shook his head. "It's like all of my senses are rewired." He pressed himself against the door a little, as though slightly scared of something that was moving steadily closer. "Things I smell and touch, even the things I see, all make me _feel_ something different than before, and none of it's _right_; it's all _sick_ but so close to winning me over."

The girls were a little startled by the confession.

Xander made a move to leave again, beginning to open the door.

"Please just..." Willow tried to stop him with a hand to the shoulder, just as he'd stopped her the day before.

He whirled around. "Don't touch me!" he yelled with a slightly gravely voice. The door slammed as he pushed her away quickly with one hand and backed away from them.

Willow was thrown several feet away. She landed hard on the floor in front of the loveseat, winded and shocked, but awake and still breathing.

Buffy slugged him in the jaw. "What did you think you were doing? You have to be more careful!"

Buffy, Dawn, and Anya all hurried to Willow, making sure she was all right.

Xander stood frozen in shock, barely feeling the punch to his face. "I d-didn't… I-I…"

"Guys," Spike called from the bathroom. "Good news; the bleedings stopped." He came into the main room. "No poison, just wicked sharp..." He stopped quickly, finally noticing the situation. "Everyone all right?"

"No," Xander answered easily, opening the door again and hurrying back into his own room.

Spike gave a slight shake to his head, starting towards the door. "I'll talk to him."

Before he reached the door, they could hear the sound of glass breaking and heavy things being thrown around in Xander's room.

Spike stopped, looking to the girls for suggestions. "Maybe this isn't the best time for _anyone_ to bother him."

"I'm ok..." Willow forced herself to sit up. "There's an Addiction-Suppressing spell," she panted with a cough, trying to catch her breath. "Page 244 in the book Spike had... I can do it really fast, but it almost _only_ works on humans and takes a _lot_ of power... Since Xander needs it, and apparently still has a fair portion of human in him, I'll give it a try and hopefully it _will_ work."

Spike looked to the floor, then back to Willow nervously. "Would that 'a worked on me?"

Willow looked to him as though she were confused about what he was referring to.

"You know, just before my chip went bonkers and The First was making me crazy..." Spike reminded. "Would that spell you're about to use on Xander have helped me?"

She shook her head. "But I hadn't even found the spell back then... Since Xander's still _alive_ and there's still _some_ parts to him that aren't at all demon, it's only a _little_ more likely to work."

Buffy helped Willow to her feet and onto the couch.

"So it's still a long shot?" Dawn asked.

She nodded. "Even _if_ I do everything right, there's usually still a chance that a spell like this won't work on a _human_. It has to do with people having free-will and the importance of them making an _effort_ to triumph over something with your own willpower in stead of just using the magical fix."

"What will you need to do the spell?" Anya asked, picking up the book and flipping to the correct page.

From Xander's room came another large crash.

Buffy looked to the rest of them. "I'm going to calm him down while the rest of you work on that spell." She began towards the door.

"Wait," Willow called, getting up and going over to her backpack.

Buffy turned around.

She dug inside and found another, unused shaft of clear crystal tied to a leather cord. Setting it on the wooden desk, she pulled out a baggie of herbs and took a handful out, closing her eyes. "_Lateo_..." she whispered, sprinkling the herbs over the charm. "_Ossis_, _cor_, _animae_:_ lateo_."

The crystal glowed a little with a red light and then dimmed. The core of the crystal had turned red, though the rest of it remained clear.

Willow brought it over to Buffy, and put it around Buffy's neck. "This will hide your vital signs from Xander. It should trick his body into thinking of you not as any sort of _target_; it will be like you're not there, but he'll still be able to see and hear you."

Spike took a step back, a little startled by the effectiveness of that magic. "That's some creepy stuff, that is. No heartbeat... or smell to ya..."

Willow nodded with a smile. "If the spell for Xander doesn't work, I'll make one of these for each of us." She looked back to Buffy. "That is, if this charm really works on _Xander_ considering he's not just..."

"A run-of-the-mill Vampire," Buffy finished.

Willow nodded. "It's meant to work one hundred present on Vampires, but doesn't mention other demons." She looked around to all of them. "There isn't a lot of magic aimed at Xander's sort of _demonic-melting-pot_ situation."

Yet another crash came from Xander's room.

"I'd better get over there before the place is totaled," Buffy said. "Good luck with your spell..." She opened the door and went into the hall.

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	3. Good Old Number Five

-1

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Xander's Room

The entire room was in dismay: the couch was flipped over; the dresser was in a heap of broken wood; the mattress of the bed was crooked from being overturned; the curtains were torn and only half hanging on one side, allowing light to stream into the otherwise dank room; and the television had had its screen smashed in by Xander's fist at some point during the devastation.

Xander, showing his red eyes and claws, picked up the nightstand and threw it towards the counter.

It hit the counter and slid to the floor with a loud clatter, falling apart.

Xander, finally near exhaustion, sat down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall where the nightstand, clock, and lamp had been.

Buffy knocked on the door. "Xander?"

"Go away!" he yelled in reply.

"No," she said calmly, reaching into her pocket for the card key. She put it into the lock, and opened the door. She was surprised to see the state of the room, but took a step inside anyway.

Xander stayed where he was, a little confused about why he didn't feel like attacking her as he had in the other room. He was shocked that he was able to see, hear, and smell her only as well as any human might be able to; he couldn't hear her heart, smell any blood, or see her as though she were standing in a spotlight within the dim room. "Is Willow alright?"

Buffy nodded. "She's fine, and I'm sorry I hit you." She could see his slight confusion. "Willow did a spell." She picked up the charm, showing the small crystal then letting it drop back into her chest. "So is it all right for me to come in, now?"

Xander nodded slowly, still not sure how to act. He somehow didn't feel like making the effort to look human again, so he remained the way he was with sharp teeth and dark eyes even though he was feeling a little more human.

She closed the door and came farther into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. "I love what you've done with the place," she said sarcastically, looking again at the mess.

"I was going for the lived-in look," he joked back, getting to his feet. In stead of passing her at the foot of the bed, he walked over the crooked mattress and went to the couch, righting it as easily as he might have picked up the small wooden chair. The broken curtains allowed light to flow onto the wall where the couch had been.

Buffy was still surprised by that show of strength.

He slid the couch back into it's old spot, squinting a little as he entered the light, and then turned back to her. "Have a seat," he gestured to the couch, but sat near the head of the bed by himself.

Buffy went over to the couch and sat, a little nervous about going any farther into the room. "Why did you do this to the room?" She looked around at the extent of the damage. "Except for a fist through the wall of Willow's dorm room a few years back, you've never done _anything_ like this before..."

Xander nodded calmly. "I've never _felt_ anything like this before."

"Well," Buffy began. "Willow's working on some magic to _stop_ some of the things you're feeling. She didn't mention the specifics of what it will do, and doubts that it _will_ work, but it's to break Addictions."

"It's worth a try," Xander agreed quickly. "I won't be any use to anyone unless I _don't_ feel like ripping people apart." He sighed, looking away from her towards the broken curtains. "It's weird. Like all _reason _leaves me and I just _act_. I understand what's _happening_, but I can't stop it... And sometimes I don't even understand that much; I'm just suddenly _doing_ something."

Buffy looked at him sadly. "Have you tried to do what Spike mentioned: use your mind to win against what you _feel_ like doing?"

He nodded, quickly looking back to her. "But if I could do it very well, my room wouldn't look like _this_."

The crystal that Buffy was wearing suddenly shattered with a _pop_. Just then, a ball of light shot through the wall, hitting Xander so hard that he was thrown sideways into the air and roughly into the wall above the headboard.

Xander fell at the head of the bed, slamming his back into the cushion of the blankets, unconscious.

Buffy rushed over to him, kneeling next to him on the bed.

The door to the room next to them opened quickly in the hall, and there came a fast knock before Spike, Dawn, and Anya rushed inside.

"Is he all..." Dawn began before her jaw dropped and she looked around the room. "Wow..."

Willow trailed in slowly after the group, stumbling a little. "Did it work?" she asked weakly.

Spike went to Willow's side, helping her to balance as she walked farther inside. The curtains allowed some light into the room, but thankfully, for Spike, it only shone in over the couch and no farther.

"I don't know," Buffy explained, getting off the bed. She pulled the leather cord off her neck and dropped it to the all ready trash-strewn carpet. "Whatever happened was strong enough to break this charm." She looked to Xander and the dent left in the wall. "And to throw him around like a doll."

"M-Maybe that's a sign that it's working," Dawn suggested nervously.

"Or the magic could have hit him so hard because it couldn't be absorbed into him," Anya suggested pessimistically. "If that's the case, he'll be his _crazy_ self again when he wakes up with _us_ standing over him."

Willow nodded. "The rest of you should go. If it didn't work, I still have enough magic on hand to knock him out again..."

"I'm staying too," Buffy protested. "Slayer strength is the only _brute_-force to match how strong he's become, and noticing how tired you are right now, it might be what we need."

The others agreed a little reluctantly.

Spike picked up the wooden chair from next to the counter and righted it so Willow could sit safely near the door while they waited.

Xander began to stir and sat up quickly. His eyes were brown, and both his teeth and fingernails were at their human length. "What was that?" he asked quietly, not quite noticing the group. He was looking to his slightly purpling elbow, the only injury caused by his impact with the wall. Finally hearing the quickly beating hearts of the people in his room, he turned to look at them.

"Since you're probably still crazy..." Anya grabbed a hold of Dawn's sleeve and began to drag her as she backed away, "we were just leaving."

"Wait," Xander called, then looked to Willow with a very relaxed expression that was nothing like the panic he'd been in throughout that afternoon. "Whatever you just did..."

Anya and Dawn stopped in the doorway to hear.

"It was something to cover up the cravings that come from an addiction," Willow smiled. "You feel better?"

Xander nodded. "It's all still there, but so deep down that I feel completely like my pre-monster self again... When it comes to thinking, anyway." He looked back to his now flesh-toned elbow. There was no longer any sign at all on his skin to suggest that he was the one who had just dented that badly damaged wall.

"Now what?" Spike asked the group. "We got Xander back to his _not_-gonna-kill-us state-of-mind, but it's still day and we don't know how we're really gonna handle the science-vamps, especially when it comes to Xander's one hundred percent restoration, if _that_ is even possible."

Xander nodded in agreement. "We need a plan."

Dawn couldn't help but allow a yawn to escape.

Xander noticed everyone's sleepiness. "Or rather, the rest of you should sleep; that's all I've been doing this whole time while the rest of you actually _worked_ on things."

"We should _all_ try to get some sleep..." Buffy agreed after a few moments.

"That breaking-out, time-freezing spell, followed by one as effective as this, has really drained me..." Willow admitted. She stood, swayed dizzily, and suddenly began to fall, unconscious.

Before anyone, including Xander, realized it, Xander was at Willow's side, catching her before she hit the floor. He lifted her up entirely, ready to carry her to a place to lay down.

They all made a small sound of shock and jumped a little, disturbed by the speed at which Xander had moved.

Xander ignored their reactions and brought Willow over to the couch, gently setting her down.

Buffy snapped out of her trance and followed Xander's path to Willow's side. "Is she all right?"

Xander nodded. "Just exhausted, as far as I can tell," he explained, trying to adjust the curtains so they darkened the room more completely. Satisfied with the results, he sat on the floor next to Willow's feet with his back to the curtains.

"I-I guess we all need to go back to the other room and rest up for the fight," Anya reminded, heading out without another word.

Spike gave a quick nod. "I'll leave you guys to your talkin'. If you need anything, or the _experienced_ demon-with-a-soul perspective, just give a holler." He headed out the door and back to the other room.

Dawn stayed near the door. "Can I stick around? I've been kinda out of the loop on some of this... but would really _like_ to be in on whatever's next."

Xander nodded. "If you want to, it's fine with me." This time _he _yawned. "But sunset will come soon enough..."

Buffy turned to her and continued. "And all of us will need to be ready to fight if we're going to exterminate all of them."

Dawn shook her head. "I'm fine; ready to rumble! Can I stay?"

Buffy nodded.

Dawn came in and sat at the foot of the bed.

Willow began to wake up, looking to Xander with a mellow expression. "What just happened?"

"You kinda passed out," Xander said. He gave her a very light pat on the shoe for reassurance. "But you're ok..." He made a move to stand. "I'll help you back to your room..."

"That's all right," Buffy interrupted, motioning for him to remain seated, then went over to Willow. "Dawn, give me a hand and we can get Willow back to the room."

Dawn came over quickly.

Willow began to sit up on her own, but didn't argue as Dawn and Buffy helped her to her feet.

"We'll wake you at sunset," Buffy told Xander as they all began to leave the room.

"That wasn't much _talk time_..." Dawn complained.

"Sleep now, talk later," Willow explained.

The trio left without another word to Xander, closing the door behind them.

Xander stood and adjusted the curtains again before finally falling to the bed, too tired to bother taking off his shoes.

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Xander's Room, 6:20 PM

A quick knock came to the door.

"Xander," Dawn called, "It's time to get up."

For the first time since all of the terrible things had happened, he woke feeling no desire at all to do violence to anyone; he wasn't even hungry. Sitting up in bed, he felt a little light-headed.

Dawn gave another knock. "Are you up?"

"Yes," Xander called back, putting his feet on the floor.

"Willow said you wouldn't have much of an appetite, but that you still need to eat something to keep up your strength," Dawn relayed through the door.

Xander staggered to the door and opened it a crack before heading towards the kitchen. "It's all right if you wanna come in," he called to her, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a package.

Dawn opened the door a little more and stepped in, turning on the light switch instinctively; only one small light came on. All the other lights in the room seemed to have been broken or unplugged when Xander destroyed the room.

Xander gave her a small smile and brought the package to the desk again. He used the pair of scissors to cut the corner, just as he had earlier that day. This time, though, his teeth and fingernails remained human as he drank the red liquid.

Dawn continued inside and sat on the bed where she had been before. She could see him silhouetted against the illuminated curtains and she knew he was drinking something. She kept her head turned away from him, still uneasy about Xander falling into the category of _demon_. "The spell still workin' ok?"

The blood tasted a little blander than it had before, but he continued drinking even when he felt his strength returning. Stopping just before finishing the bag, he looked back to her. "It's working." He brought what was left of the package back to the other room and set it inside the frig.

Dawn looked to him, still uncomfortable.

He turned back to her. "How are things in the world of Dawn?"

"All right, I guess" she said with a bit of a squeak. "I finished my history report, but still have a little biology to do… Not much else." Her voice wouldn't work properly. Despite the knowledge that it was really _Xander_, and that the magic was keeping him from being violent, she was still more nervous than she thought she would be.

He sighed, easily able to see, hear, and practically even smell her fear. He quickly gave up on the idea of small talk. "Let's get back to the others."

They headed back to the other room.

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Room 305, 6:30 PM

Dawn and Xander came into the room.

The others were gathered around the computer, looking at blueprints of the building and discussing their plans as they drank some coffee. Willow was sitting at the keyboard and the others were just standing.

Xander closed the door and joined the group. "So, how is everyone and what's the plan so far?"

"We're all fine," Buffy answered for the group, sipping from her coffee cup.

"And so far we're _all_ gonna patrol the park, like last night, and dust as many as we can," Spike explained.

"Then, when enough of the grunts are dead, we'll go to the lab," Willow finished.

Xander gave a nod, terribly nervous about fighting the vampires. "When do we head out?"

Buffy went to her bag which was still next to the loveseat. "As soon as I gather up the weapons."

Willow looked up at Xander. "Is the spell working all right? Any side-effects or big changes?"

"Sanity is the biggest change," Xander began. "It keeps getting easier for me to control what I'm feeling. I don't know about any side-effects, but almost anything would be better than the way things would be _without_ this spell. But what about you? You were in pretty bad shape when you left my room. Are you all right now? Does keeping the spell going affect you at all?"

Willow smiled. "I was just really tired, but even though the spell seems to be working _better _for you, it's not any _worse _for me. The initial spell was the only drain."

"But you're ready for patrolling?" Xander asked.

Willow nodded, giving a shrug. "As ready as I can be if it all has to happen tonight." She picked up the backpack she'd been using to store the Vampire's paperwork. If they managed to survive the night, she figured she might need to look over the papers a few more times to decide what would be best to do in the case of the other creations.

Buffy got up, bag in hand. "I'm ready."

They all headed out.

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Park, 7:00 PM

The large group walked slowly down one of the paths.

"Maybe we should split up a little," Dawn suggested.

Buffy gave a small nod. "Then I'm thinking one _super-strength _per-pair? I'll go with Dawn; Spike can go with Anya; and Xander, you can walk with Willow."

Everyone agreed.

"We'll all meet back at the car to re-group and take a dusted-body-count around 9 PM, ok?" Buffy continued. "That should give us time to make it around the park a few times, and, considering there are dozens of them, we should be able to get a lot done."

"Sure," Spike and Dawn agreed, but the others were silent.

Buffy looked to the rest due to their lack of enthusiasm. "Anything wrong?"

The others shook their heads.

"I'm just not sure how ready I am to do a _patrol_ alongside a person," Xander commented. "Willow mentioned side-effects, and if there are any, and I don't know what will happen, I just don't know what _will _happen."

Willow nodded. "That's kinda still my concern, but I know plenty of those rapidly-recite-able spells to counteract any strange behavior."

"And at least you'll have a witch," Anya spat. "And you have plenty of strength of your own. I'm stuck with the washed-out vampire and _I_ barely have any demon powers _at all_ these days!"

"Anya, just quit complaining," Spike snapped. "I've dusted plenty of vamps, and can handle whatever they throw at me tonight."

Anya turned to him. "You mean just like last night? That was you, Buffy, and Super-Demonic-Xander all in one group, and you and Buffy got your asses kicked badly enough to let them _capture_ Xander! Don't even try to assure me that _you_, alone, could stop them from capturing us both!"

Everyone was silent for a moment, considering.

"It wasn't their fault; I was drugged," Xander snapped back in defense of his friends. "We were practically _in_ their building, but I asked them to leave me and come back later. If _I_ don't blame _them_, then how can you?"

There was another moment of stunned reflection.

Xander gave a small laugh. "Besides, they can't drug me now, they said so themselves when I was in the cell. I'm actually _stronger_ than before, so _I_ won't let anything like last night happen again." He suddenly heard a faint cry near the center of the park.

Spike turned to Xander. "I thought I heard somethin'..."

"Screaming," Xander said. "Whoever is in _my _group, it's time to go." He began to run towards where he'd heard the screams.

Willow rushed to Buffy, reaching for the bag.

Buffy helped her, opening the bag quickly.

Willow grabbed a couple of stakes, some holy water and a cross, then followed Xander through the park.

Spike looked to Anya. "Screw this," he said to her blankly, and then followed after Willow.

"Come on," Buffy called, also following.

Dawn and Anya did as instructed.

Xander passed a playground, spotting the group of Vampires.

There were seven, in all, attacking a man and woman. Five were the smaller workers, while the other two were the larger guards.

Xander looked quickly over his shoulder as he ran, hoping to find more than just Willow to help him take on the large gang. He was happy to see the entire group trailing behind.

The Vampires spotted the approaching army. The workers picked up the unconscious couple and began dragging them away. The guards began to follow, both with smiles and willing to fight when the people arrived.

Buffy pulled out the crossbow as she ran.

One of the two guards turned to the fast approaching Xander. "The docs said you were all such trouble that we get to kill you if you tried to stop us," it called.

"Give it a try, and see how far you get," Xander taunted, tackling the one who had spoken.

Willow uncorked the bottle of holy water as she ran, then threw it like a grenade at the group carrying the girl.

The water landed on the girl and splashed everywhere, forcing two of the workers to loose their grip on the girl.

Buffy fired the crossbow at the second guard as it headed for Xander and the other; it turned to dust.

Xander grabbed the guard around the neck, his hands beginning to feel warm.

The guard punched Xander hard in the face, knocking him off balance and reversing their positions.

Buffy dropped her bag and grabbed the guard by the arm, pulling him off Xander and then kicking him towards some bushes.

Spike attacked the trio of remaining vampires who held the man, taking one by surprise and turning it to dust.

Buffy delivered one more kick and the guard landed hard in the bushes, a twig in the heart.

Dawn, Willow, and Anya ganged up on the two vampires who had been burnt by the water.

Xander got quickly to his feet, helping the girls.

Willow jumped on the back of the vampire as Anya staked it.

Buffy went after one of the two still attacking Spike.

Xander took a swing at the second of the girls' opponents, but missed and was kicked off balance.

It pinned Xander to the ground and found the stray arrow, aiming it over Xander's chest.

Xander grabbed onto the vampire's hands, trying to change his fingernails to claws, but it was unsuccessful. As an alternative, Xander settled for making them become warm in an attempt to burn the hands away, rather than to tear.

Smoke began to rise from the vampire's hands.

Suddenly a wave of weakness passed through Xander and he felt the tip of the arrow cutting through his skin very quickly. He let out a cry of pain.

With Anya helping Willow off the ground and Spike and Buffy still fighting, Dawn came quickly to Xander's attacker, pulled out a stake, and slammed it into the vampire's back.

The vampire turned to dust above Xander.

The arrowhead was buried in Xander's chest. Xander pulled it out quickly, putting his right hand over the wound as he stood, panting a little from the pain. "Thanks, Dawn..."

In unison, Spike and Buffy staked their remaining opponents, both falling to dust before them. They turned back to the others.

"Everyone all right?" Buffy asked.

"Xander's hurt," Dawn announced quickly, looking worriedly at him.

Xander shook his head a little, pulling his hand away from the now painless wound. All that remained was a slightly red mark behind his torn shirt. "I think I found a side effect, though."

"Oh, God, what is it?" Willow asked quickly.

Xander shook his head quickly. "I don't think it's anything to worry about that much but I can't do the fire thing as well. That last _close call_ with the arrow needed strength and claws, neither of which seemed to work. I think the spell might be doing that."

Willow thought a moment, then looked back to Xander. "Maybe it's working on you by _blocking_ the aspects of you that make you want blood; namely, suppressing the demon-y-parts."

"But he can still heal," Dawn pointed out.

Willow nodded. "Healing, heightened senses, and tolerance to sunlight seem to be the only harmless parts to the demon thing... Teeth, strength, claws, and fire can all do harm to someone, the type of harm that his demonic part has been trying to get him to do."

"So if he wants to be _Super Demonic Xander_, as Anya put it," Spike began, "you'd have to block the spell, but that'd make him Super _Crazy_ Xander again?"

She gave a nod. "That's my logic so far."

Xander gave a small laugh. "So much for _not letting myself be captured again_."

"Since you can heal, maybe the drugs still won't work on you," Buffy suggested optimistically. "That _drugging_ was the main problem with the last time we were in this park..."

"I'm useless and now they have the all-clear to _kill_ us," Xander continued sadly.

"This isn't looking very good," Anya agreed. Her face suddenly lit up with an idea. "We could use Xander as bate, and when they're on the ground struggling, with Xander being impaled or strangled, we could just kill the vampire the way Dawn did!"

"I'm not a pincushion," Xander complained to Anya. "_That_ was _painful_."

"Too bad! _That_ was _effective_!" Anya protested.

Buffy stepped in with a laugh, looking to Anya. "_That's_ not an option. None of us will be bate unless it's a guarantee that it _won't_ result in a skewering, strangling, or harm of any sort, regardless of healing ability."

The man and woman began to wake up, startled by the group of new people.

"This park isn't safe," Dawn called to the couple. "So you guys should probably just head home."

The couple stumbled to their feet without a word, then ran for the nearest border of the park.

Xander looked back to Willow. "How is the spell broken?"

Everyone was a little shocked.

"You've been non-Super for long enough to stay that way right now," Anya protested. "Either that or you'll want to tear us to pieces again."

Xander shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that. I _meant_ is it an incantation, or a do _I_ do something? I don't want to inadvertently break the spell, but if it gets down to an _I'm re-captured_ situation, I might need it to get away. I just can't believe that after all the fuss they went through to do this to me, that they'd just _give up_."

She hesitated a moment before answering. "A-As sane _you_, I never thought to mention the breaker because _you_ would never do it, but you say a few words, then..." Willow paused nervously. "...You bite a person."

"What are the words?" Xander asked quickly.

Willow paused again, then took a breath to relax. She didn't know if it was a good idea to tell him how to break the spell. "_Solutae curae_."

"Which means what?" Dawn asked innocently.

"_Releasing cares_," Spike translated. "If he didn't care about anything, he'd be fine with an addiction, so to state it, then give in, would be the appropriate breaker."

Willow nodded. "An alcoholic would say it, then take a drink of beer, and a drug user would say exactly the same, then take some drugs."

"Now that we've cleared that up, can we get back to killing the Vampires?" Buffy asked, more motivated than ever to kill as many of the creatures who hurt her friend as she could.

This time everyone agreed with ease, and the entire group began through the park.

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Park, 10:40 PM

The group rested on the benches near the fountain, the same place they'd gathered that morning. Everyone was slouched or slightly slumped in their seats.

"What's that final count, again?" Anya asked, very tired.

"Forty-three, I think," Xander answered, feeling as weak as a regular human again. By vampire number twelve, the fire-starting effect of his hands was completely absent. His healing ability, however, was as speedy as ever, coming in handy several times during the evening.

"That makes about two-thirds of what we saw in the building," Buffy commented.

"And how many humans did we keep them from getting? Was it seventeen or eighteen?" Dawn asked with a tired sigh.

"Twenty-six," Spike answered, as tired as the others. "Busy night."

"It's gotta be after midnight by now..." Anya commented with a yawn.

"Nope," Willow answered. "Not even eleven."

Buffy gave a sigh. "We can't just turn in for the night, but I have to say this is the most we've taken on in one patrol since pretty much _ever_."

"And I think another record I broke was the number of stabbings received in one night," Xander added. "We gotta make sure the enemy doesn't score the discarded weapons..."

"Tired makes sloppy," Willow rationalized, in favor of a rest.

"We could head back to the hotel for a decent meal, take a nap, and hit the place sometime in the AM," Spike suggested.

Buffy wasn't sure. She'd feel guilty about leaving the park if any more people were in danger. "What do all of you think?"

"We could keep this up all night," Anya began, "and it wouldn't..." She was cut off by screaming in the distance.

"Break's over," Buffy called, hurrying to her feet and then quickly down a path.

Everyone followed.

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Sunday - Glenn Medical Center Parking lot, 3:05 AM

The battle-worn group headed across the lot, each of them freshly armed with stakes and holy water.

"Everyone's ready for this?" Buffy asked as they went.

"No," Spike answered easily, "but if we let up now, more people will be _recruited_ and their forces will be a few more dozen deep by sunrise."

"One more deep would be too high a cost just to take a break," Xander pointed out.

They'd reached the door. Buffy pulled the door open quickly and the group slowly began to file inside.

Xander stopped in his tracks, just a few feet inside with Dawn and Anya behind him, waiting to come inside. A wave of weakness swept through him.

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked quietly.

"Nothing; just dizzy," he said plainly and continued inside.

The door slam loudly behind them. The latch clicked, followed by an electronically triggered thud as all of the lights dimmed. Everyone looked back to the door.

"This can't be a good thing," Dawn said in her small voice.

Anya tried to open the door. "It's locked."

Xander put a hand to his head and leaned again the wall, feeling dizzy again.

"Are you _sure_ it's nothing?" Spike asked him.

This time Xander shook his head no. The urges, which had been so completely masked by Willow's magic, seemed to be creeping back.

A set of loud-speakers suddenly clicked on: "Hello, again, Alexander. I am sure you have brought your friends," Joseph's voice taunted. "You have triggered this recording and, since we are concerned with _science_, you have entered a newly improved, _Anti-Magic Facility_..."

The group quickly headed down the hall that led to the lab, Xander forcing himself to keep up. They were all shocked by what they saw. The entire lab was empty.

"Therefore," the recording continued, "you will not be escaping by means of the Witch, Wizard, or magical bring in your company. Of course, this little distraction gives our diminished group sufficient time to retreat."

Xander let out a sudden call of pain, falling to his hands and knees. The stabbing pain of hunger hit him in the stomach and the sound of the hearts around him became deafening. "Stay away from me," Xander begged quietly, looking at the tile floor. His teeth and claws had returned, and felt he was very near to loosing control.

"Xander," Willow cried, dropping her bag rushing to his side. She went to her knees beside him.

The others backed away from him a little, knowing that "Anit-Magic" must have meant that the spell Willow had done was now being broken.

"As a reward for your persistence," Joseph continued, "I have left behind an experimental cure for Alexander's condition. It is completely effective on the other patients, but it has never been tested on those with other demonic traits. After this was administered, it polluted the patient too greatly to subject them to another transformation with un-tainted results..."

Everyone looked around the room, not seeing any sign of anything being left behind. Buffy went over to the door of the room the vampire workers had stayed in. She tried to open it but it was locked. A key hung on a hook beside the door.

"Alexander's new physiology requires he drink only _fresh _human or vampire blood, lest he be faced with needing a greater quantity of pre-packaged blood to survive. Given this need for blood directly from a human or vampire's vein, we have decided to leave two _appetizers_ from which he may take blood. You will find the two young ladies in the Staff Housing, through a door in the lab."

She picked up the key and opened the door to the room; it was empty except for a few loose newspapers and a couple of stray pillows… Then she saw the two young women, bound, blind-folded and gagged, laying in the far corner. She rushed in to untie them.

Xander laughed suddenly, eyes on the floor. "How nice of them."

Buffy led the two, frightened girls into the lab.

"...Also remaining behind are the unsuccessfully engineered patients that came before him. The only magic being maintained here is within their cells; each cell contains a small box protected by a force field, impenetrateable by all demonic creatures. To cure your friend, a human must remove the box from the cell. Your only obstacle is the other patients. When all four of the vials within the boxes are combined, they form enough of the serum to _completely_ cure _all but one of them_..." Joseph laughed.

"Great," Xander panted sarcastically with his teeth clenched and his concentration still on the floor. "That just leaves _me_ un-cured."

"...Now comes the test of a true hero. The cure requires an injection of no less than 8 c.c. in order for each of them to be completely returned to their human forms. There are exactly 36 c.c. available to you; only 4 c.c. will remain after four individuals have been cured. To split the mixture between all five ensures unpredictable side-effects, leaving residual vampiric traits in each. If you kill any of the others while attempting to get the vials, you will not have to _make_ that terrible choice." He gave another laugh. "But you may as well be killing a human because it is a _guarantee_ that _they_ can all be changed back to a normal person; Alexander's transformation is the only one _without _a guarantee..."

Xander sat up a little, resting on just his knees with one hand across his stomach as he waited for the pain to hit him again. He felt a surge of energy as he looked at his friends and the two women, wanting to jump at the nearest one of them; this time Willow. It was the same thing he'd wanted to do the last time he felt this hungry, and he _had_ given in before.

"...Alexander didn't stay with us long enough to be introduced to his other cell-mates. Lee is in room number one, Stephen in number two, Tess in number three and Olivia is staying in number four. There is a key on the hook outside each cell which will open the corresponding door. The doors leading out of this building will open on their own tomorrow at noon. At that time, you may again use magic. This is all I have to tell you. Good luck and I hope you all have a _very_ good time." Joseph started to laugh heartily again before the recording turned off.

Buffy sighed. "Xander, how are you holding up?"

Xander stood, relieved for the moment. "Not great."

Willow got to her feet, too.

"I know I can't last until noon," Xander continued. "I'm strong enough without the spell on me to force the exit open and then..."

"No," Buffy interrupted quickly. "If we open that door and can't contain the others, we can't risk letting them into the city."

Xander shook his head quickly. "Then you'd better lock me back in _good old number five_, chains and all, and hope the door holds. If I don't get some blood, or _some_ of that cure, pretty soon..."

"I'll get you the blood," Anya volunteered quickly. "I found plenty before. I'll be back in a few minutes." She made a small movement with her hands, straining to leave by way of her demonic power. It was no use. "I-I can't leave," she admitted nervously.

"Then we still have the problem," Dawn commented, a little more bravely than she though she could have.

There was a moment of silence and then they heard noises coming from the cells; several of the prisoners were either pounding on the walls or kicking at them.

Xander caught himself with a hand against the counter as the pain hit again. He looked suddenly at the two girls who had just been untied. There was something about them that wasn't right…

"Maybe you should lay down," Willow suggested, noticing the strange way he was looking at the young strangers.

Buffy suddenly had a thought. She hoped she wouldn't regret it in the long run, but it seemed to be a solution for right now. "Xander, come with me; Spike, watch them." She started down the hall.

Xander followed slowly, feeling a mix of pain and anxious energy. He forced himself to head down the hall. "Tie me up then stay away from me," he told her when they'd reached the end of the hall.

"I don't think this is the answer," Buffy explained.

"Crap," Xander called, seeing the state of the door. It was still off its hinges from the way they'd broken him out the morning before, and one of the two restraints had been ripped from the wall. "And there's no _number_ _six_." As the pain passed, he looked back to her. "Then what _is _the answer?"

Buffy thought a moment. "How much blood do you need to feel normal?"

Xander shrugged. "Before it was a pint; less when we came to the park, but I wasn't feeling any of _this _then. I might have _needed_ more if I had been."

Buffy took a deep breath and then gave a small sigh. "Give me your shirt."

He was wearing both a long-sleeved, flannel shirt and a white t-shirt. Xander unbuttoned the top layer and handed it to Buffy.

Buffy tore the shirt into a few strips, dropping the remains to the floor. She looked back to him seriously. "Spike and I are the only two here who heal more quickly than the average person, and he'll be in almost the same boat as you if..."

"No," Xander said quickly, and then he began to ramble. "I don't want to hurt you... Surprisingly, over the years, I've never been bitten, but I already know the equation of _bites equal_ _bad_. And then there's my own, personal equation of _blood makes me crazy_. How do you know I would stop? _I_ barely know if I would stop. I didn't even really know the girl was dead when…"

"Then make a small cut with one of those claws and take what you need because if you _don't_, you're be worse than a _normal _crazy," she reminded. "Slayer blood is more potent and might last longer. You'd do worse than take a little from _all_ of us if you don't do _this_ now. Besides, when it comes to talking with the other... _creatures_... that are here, you know what they're going through and might be able to relate to them and _talk_."

Xander stared blankly, considering what to do.

"_Yes_, which will help everyone, or still _no_?" Buffy continued.

Xander nodded, "Yes." He was a little pleased that this was turning out for the better: he could satisfy his urges without actually unleashing them.

She held out her left hand for him.

He took it in his eagerly, using the edge of his thumb to cut into her wrist. The scent of the first droplet sent his mind racing with a guilty pleasure. Almost before he realized he had, his lips were locked around the wound, careful not to use his teeth.

"You all right back there?" Spike called from the lab.

"In a minute," Buffy managed to call.

Every drop Xander took in made him feel stronger than anything from the packages had.

With every heartbeat, she felt a little weaker. She reminded herself that every drop kept him from losing control, so she'd give him a little more if he needed it.

As soon as he remembered what he was doing to her, he quickly pulled away, not exactly sure how much blood he'd taken from her. Looking away to made it easier for him to stop thinking about it, so his eyes focused on the floor again.

Buffy took the strip of shirt and tied it around her lightly bleeding wrist, weaving it in and out of the strip to create a more secure bandage.

His claws had disappeared along with his teeth, and, now that the bandage smothered the open cut, he turned back to her. "Are you ok?"

She gave a little laugh. "Strong as ever."

He could tell she was a little paler. Xander looked to the floor, embarrassed by what he'd _had_ to do to his friend. _At least it wasn't a murder this time_ he reminded himself futilely. There was still one part of him disappointed that it _hadn't_ been murder. That same part wished he'd taken blood from the two women so he could have just killed strangers. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," she replied with surprising cheer. "We'll get back to the others and make a plan."

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4:15 AM - The Lab

Buffy put the key in the first cage they'd agreed on opening: Tess in room number three. They'd discussed what Xander remembered when he'd gotten a glimpse of them all and the only one who seemed to just be _scared_, as opposed to violent or crazy, was Tess. From the notes Willow had read, this also seemed to be true.

Xander waited by her side while Spike and Willow remained a few paces back. Dawn and Anya were still in the lab.

Buffy pushed the door open.

In one corner was an oily bubble around a small wooden box, and in the other was Tess.

Tess was on the floor with her arms and legs tethered to the wall in the same fashion Xander's had been. Her clothing was tattered and a little spotted by blood on some parts of the material. She looked to them fearfully with her yellow eyes.

"It's all right," Buffy assured. "We're not working with the Vampires who did this to you. You _do _know that they were vampires, right?"

Tess nodded.

Buffy sighed, a little relieved she wouldn't have too much to explain. "We're here to help, and maybe even change you back to a regular person."

Tess nodded again. "I-I heard the recording... I've heard everything all of you have been saying," she explained in a weak voice. Her top canine teeth were slightly pointed. She looked to Xander. "So you're the infamous _Alexander_ that Joseph and Bernard were going on about?"

"Just Xander," he replied with a nod.

"I wish I had friends that would have gone through _so_ much trouble to get me out of here..." Tess said sadly.

Willow stepped closer to the door, watching Tess. "Where did they take you from?"

"Miami," Tess answered quietly, in a bit of a daze. "It was summer vacation at my college; my boyfriend and I drove there from Indiana..." She was on the verge of tears. "They killed him and took me."

Everyone felt sorry for her.

Xander stepped into the room. "Do you know what they did to you? Do you have to drink blood; can you stop yourself from acting on what you _feel_?"

Buffy looked to Xander, a little surprised by the bluntness. She looked to the girl. "The basic translation is that if we untied you, would you try to hurt us?"

Tess still looked a little apprehensive. "I-I haven't been around many people since they did this," she admitted. "But they've been giving me bags of blood..."

Xander thought a moment. "They tested me to see if I'd kill the girl they threw into the room with me. Did they try anything like that on you?"

Tess thought a moment and then brightened up a little as though she were glad to have remembered but that the memory was painful. "Yes, and I didn't... I mean I didn't hurt him... It seemed like such a long time ago..."

"Do you know how long you've been here?" Spike asked, finally joining in.

Tess shook her head a little. "Not really... The last calendar I saw was from August... I've heard some of them talking. It's after Thanksgiving, isn't it? I could hear Christmas music outside, and in another building."

Willow nodded. "It'll be Christmas in about a week."

Xander finally walked over to Tess, kneeling beside her. He looked back to Willow. "Get the box."

Willow came inside, and went over to the bubble, reaching into it and lifting out the small box. When the box was removed, the bubble popped with a sharp crack.

He looked back to Tess. "Since you heard the recording, you know that you'll have to get a shot from us after we've gotten the other boxes."

Tess nodded, a little worried about the portion of the recording concerning _making that terrible choice_.

Xander reached for the straps that held her hands and began to unbuckle them. "If you can promise to not try to hurt any of us, we'll let you out of this room, but if you're going to hurt my friends, you're in for a surprise and another lock-up." He untied the straps to her legs and stood, offering his hand to her.

She took it with a nod of understanding and was pulled to her feet.

They all trailed back into the lab. Dawn and Anya had the girls sitting on the steps. The girls, Renee and Lily, had said little but their names, and seemed to be in a state of shock as they watched what was going on.

"Do you know much about the others?" Willow asked Tess as she went to the counter to see what was included in the box.

Tess folded her arms and shook her head. She noticed the two girls sitting on the steps, and momentarily found herself thinking like a predator. Shaking off the feeling before she began to focus on their hearts, she answered, "Not too much, but I could always hear bits and pieces. Stephen was a cop, I think, and they picked him up in Texas just after me. They always had to give him shots to calm him down..."

"Do you think he can control what he does, the way you can?" Dawn asked innocently from near the steps, staying as far from her as she could.

Tess shook her head, trying not to look at the pair on the steps. "I don't think so. When they put someone in with him, within a day he'd almost _beaten_ him to death." She could remember every moment. "All Stephen did was growl and shout, and... I don't think Stephen wanted to do it because he kept yelling at the person to stay away and stop making noise..." Finally she stopped herself from rambling on about the incident, shaking her head a little. "All the guy was doing was breathing, but Stephen kept attacking him."

Buffy looked to Xander. "To get the box out of his room, and ultimately give him a shot, we'll probably have to knock him out."

Xander gave a nod. He was starting to feel a little restless again as he imagined what Stephen had done, and remembered exactly what _he_ had done.

"What about the other two?" Spike continued to Tess.

"Lee's been here the longest of us all. They picked him up from somewhere in the Northeast. He's strong, fast, and always brags that he killed his person within two minutes," Tess answered more objectively. "He'll kill all of us if you open that door."

Xander was finally a little glad of his extra abilities. The only good to come of this may be his ability to protect his friends.

"Olivia is a little crazy and she came here just before me... They tested her a few times to see if she'd kill someone. When I got here, she refused to hurt anyone, even though she was starving... After they gave her another shot, she kept fighting... One more and she still fought until finally she killed the girl... Just to make sure, they gave her another, and that's why she's like this now..."

"Multiple personalities, schizophrenic, or something else?" Willow asked.

Tess shrugged. "If any of you went in there, she'd probably let you get the box, but by the time you were ready to leave, she'd be as bad as Lee."

Xander thought a moment. "Why didn't they keep pumping you full of _Instant_ _Vampire_ until you were willing to kill someone?"

She gave a slow shrug. "They did, but it didn't have any effect. I heard them talking because I was wondering the same thing. They were blaming each other for it, but they said they tried to change too much in just one injection. They gave some scientific excuse that I didn't really understand. I get the impression that it was like trying to put little bits of gravel through a funnel: you can get the stones through slowly, but if you put too much in at once, it clogs. That's why they started splitting things up into three and four shots again... They'd pretty much stopped bothering to do that before, finding nothing wrong with doing it all in one shot, and then _I_ happened. Now they've pumped me full of more shots than you can imagine, but I still won't kill a person." Again, Tess looked like she was going to cry.

Buffy looked around at the others. "We'd better get started. The sooner we get the rest of the boxes, the sooner we can get things back to the way they were."

Tess and Xander both shook their heads, disagreeing with Buffy's assessment.

"Things will never be _the way they were_ even if we're normal people again," Xander answered, looking at Buffy. Even though he'd had some of her blood less than an hour ago, it didn't change what he thought about every time he looked at a person. He looked quickly to the floor, hoping that it would help him think of something else.

Tess looked to him with understanding. "Drinking _blood_ and actually having a part of you who would enjoy hurting another person isn't something that can be shrugged off, even after the feelings have left. The memory will be there forever."

Xander calmed himself and risked looking back at the others as he continued. "Besides, being part of the _Hero's Team_, I'm going to be the one who _stays_ this way."

"You shouldn't be worryin' about who gets this _possible_ cure 'til we've snagged all them little boxes," Spike suggested. "Even then, the creeps might 'a been lying; they could have left poison."

Willow nodded. "I don't know if we can trust them."

Xander started for the hall, towards the other cells. "We really need to finish this; one way or another. The sooner I can get the door open, without the risk of _something_ escaping, the better off everyone will be."

Spike, Buffy, and Willow followed.

Xander stopped in front of room number two, picking the key off the hook next to the door. "We'll make this fast." He looked into the room through the small window.

Stephen had broken his restraints and was pacing back and forth in the cage, muttering to himself and gesturing emphatically as though he were giving a passionate speech to a large audience.

"I'll go in and see if I can talk to him," Xander began. "And _when_ that doesn't work, I'll try to either knock him out or pin him against the wall while one of you," he looked to Buffy and Willow, "gets the box from the corner." He looked to Spike. "When they have the box, be ready to shut the door as soon as I'm out."

The others nodded, and Xander put the key in the lock, opening the door.

Xander took a step inside.

Stephen stopped where he was, looking at Xander but remaining otherwise still.

"Hey, Steve..." Xander began slowly. "If you're anything like Tess, you heard what we've been saying."

Stephen nodded slowly.

"Do you _want_ to be human again? To go back to your old life?"

Stephen nodded again.

"Are you gonna make it easy?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head as though it were extremely painful to give the answer. "It's too hard to stop what I'm feeling; the things I want to do…" he said quietly. "And I'm so hungry…"

Buffy took a step inside, joining Xander.

Stephen looked at her quickly, glaring at Buffy as though he were a cat preparing to pounce on a mouse.

"I'm not going to let you touch her so you can just stop acting like you even have a chance," Xander told him flatly, feeling his teeth change as he prepared to let his true strength surface. From Tess's description, he though he might need it.

Stephen ignored him and tried to run at Buffy.

Xander caught him quickly, with one hard push, Stephen flew through the air and hit the wall.

Buffy ran for the corner, reaching into the bubble.

Stephen stood up, a little disoriented.

Xander rushed to Stephen again, pinning him against the wall with one arm. _Just keep him in place. Don't do anything else. I can't let myself do anything else_, he thought to himself.

Buffy pulled out the box and ran back out the door.

Xander heard the pop of the magical bubble, released Stephen, and ran out the door.

Stephen fell to the floor, winded.

Spike slammed it behind him and turned the key.

"That was easier then I thought it would be," Xander commented, his teeth and claws still long.

Buffy handed the box to Willow.

"I'll put this with the other," she volunteered, heading back into the other room.

"Ready for another?" Xander asked them.

"You're the one doin' most of the work," Spike reminded.

Xander went to room number four, taking the key off the hook. He looked inside.

Olivia was on the floor, asleep, with her arms and legs chained to the wall.

He looked to Buffy. "It looks like she's asleep, but keep close."

She gave a quick nod, not used to Xander being so assertive and focused on his goals. She was used to the Xander who would joke about things, and even tend to put off action when faced with dangerous situations.

Xander put the key in the lock and opened the door, starting inside with Buffy behind him and Spike manning the door.

Olivia remained where she was.

Buffy made her way to the bubble with Xander between her and Olivia. She reached inside and began to lift he box out.

With a shriek, Olivia sprang to life and lunged at both of them. The tether left her a foot short of touching Xander and at least three feet from touching Buffy. She stood there flailing and pushing against the restraints, trying with all of her strength to touch them.

Buffy and Xander left quickly, avoiding her reach.

Spike locked the door and hung the key.

Willow had returned for the third box.

Buffy handed it to her and she went back to the other room.

"Lee is the last," Xander said gratefully, walking back to door number one. He was a little winded from his heart beating so quickly, but he was desperate to get out of the building as quickly as possible. He looked inside the room.

Lee was sitting on the floor with his back against the wall, sleeping as Olivia had been. His legs were unchained but his hands, which were behind his head as though he were lounging peacefully, seemed to be bound to the chains that were sprouting from the wall.

"The same as with Olivia?" Buffy asked.

Xander gave a nod, picking up the key and swinging the door open.

Lee didn't move at all.

Xander and Buffy started inside quietly, Xander, again, staying between Buffy and the prisoner.

They'd nearly reached the bubble when Lee sprang to his feet. His hands were unbound and he'd been holding a thick, jaggedly broken, wooden chair-leg behind his back to trick them into entering. "Lookie what they let me play with," Lee called with a big, fangy smile as he rushed at Xander with unnatural speed.

Before Xander could defend himself, he was on the floor.

Lee stabbed Xander through the heart with the piece of wood, and then jumped quickly for Buffy.

Buffy delivered a kick to Lee's stomach, followed by a quick right hook to his jaw, sending him off balance.

Lee was on his feet again, ready to fight.

Xander was on the floor, gasping for air through the pain. The chair-leg had gone all the way through his body. He managed to grab Lee around the ankle, burning through the bare skin.

Lee cried out in pain, kicking at Xander and forcing him to lose his grip.

Spike rushed in, grabbing Xander by the other arm and dragging him out of the room. A dark trail of blackish red blood streaked the slick-looking padded white floor.

Buffy delivered two more pinches to Lee's face, disorienting him long enough to follow Spike and Xander out of the room. She slammed the door and turned the key, looking down to Xander.

Spike pulled the stake out of Xander's chest, the blackish blood flowing quickly out of the wound.

Xander let out a call of pain, feeling weaker than ever. He couldn't feel his heart beating and this alone sent a wave of panic through him. The demon in him was more desperate than ever for fresh blood, but he was suddenly grateful that he could barely move.

Buffy fell to her knees beside him. Close to tears, she took one of his hands. She didn't know what to say. "This is all my fault… If I could have stopped them from getting you in Sunnydale…"

Willow came rushing down the hall, letting out a gasp of horror.

Inside all the occupied cells came sadistic cackles of joy.

Xander felt that the wound was healing, but he was in too great of a state of shock to really understand what was going on. "I-I..." he was struggling to speak, but ended up coughing up a little blood. He managed to shake Buffy's hand loose from his. One clear thing in his mind was that he didn't want to hurt any of his friends and as soon as his strength had returned, that was the first thing he would do.

Willow sat down beside him, tears streaking her cheeks out of worry that this might kill him.

Buffy understood what he needed, as well as what he was trying to warn. She found the earlier discarded shreds of Xander's shirt, pressing it over the wound. "Willow, hold this," she said. "Keep pressure on it."

Willow pressed the cloth over the wound.

Xander was feeling dizzy from the blood-loss. Black spots began clouding his vision until everything went dark. He closed his eyes.

"Oh, God..." Buffy whispered out of fear. Regaining her senses, she shook him by the shoulder. "Xander! You have to stay awake... Xander..."

Willow continued to press the blood-soaked cloth against the solidifying hole. She watched anxiously, tears falling again.

In an instant, Xander sprang to life, grabbing Buffy around the throat as he stood. He pinned her against the wall. Suspending her by the throat a few inches off the ground, he viciously sank his teeth into her neck.

Buffy, stunned, tried to push Xander away, but he was too strong.

"Xander!" Willow shrieked as she and Spike both grabbed a hold of him, trying to pull him away.

Xander roughly dropped Buffy, who was now unconscious, and easily pulled free from Willow and Spike. He looked at them with glazed, angry eyes, almost as though he didn't know them. All that seemed to be present was a senseless predator in need of one thing...

"Xander?" Willow questioned fearfully, backing away from him.

He rushed at Spike, pushing him hard with both hands.

The shove sent Spike sailing down the hall, and crashing into the doorframe of cell Number Five. He fell to the floor, unconscious.

Xander turned slowly to Willow with a wild, almost excited expression. He stood like a statue, glaring. The wound on his chest was shiny with blood but all that remained of the hole seemed to be a deep dent over his heart.

Willow slowly backed away from him, finding a wall. She was almost crying out of fear. "Xander... You need to calm down..."

He took a step towards her.

She slid along the wall, and finally turned to run.

Xander blocked her path in an instant, faster then Willow's eye could follow, and grabbed her by the shoulders, bending to bite her as he had Buffy.

She let out a squeal of fright. "No, please! Xander! _You_ don't want to do this..."

Xander finally felt his heart beginning to pump again, but he was still feeling that he needed more blood. Regaining some of his senses, he released her, turning away with his eyes closed and his expression softening.

Willow pulled away quickly, rushing to see if Buffy was still alive.

Xander slid to the floor, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he collapsed in pain. Drawing his knees towards his chest, he hid his face in his hands.

Noticing the silence, Dawn, Anya, Renee, Lily, and Tess all ventured down the hall. Tess had relayed to them the bits she'd been paying attention to, but all of girls were still horrified by the scene they came upon.

"I'll get the bandages," Anya offered urgently, running back into the lab.

Lily and Renee took a few steps away from Xander, shaken but not really frightened.

Tess reacted almost the same way, withdrawing a few feet. Her aversion to the scene didn't concern _her _safety, but rather the safety of others. Buffy and Xander had left quite a bloody mess on the floor, and the scent was less than calming.

Spike began to wake up, crawling to Buffy as he realized that Xander _had _stopped trying to kill them.

Anya came back with the dressings and handing them to Dawn.

Dawn rushed past Xander, going to Buffy and passing the bandages to Willow. "What happened? Was it Lee?" she asked, looking between Willow and Spike.

Willow took the medical supplies from the bag and began to treat Buffy's injury. She was still breathing, and the bleeding seemed to have stopped.

"_I_ did it," Xander confessed, taking his hands away from his face and twisting to rest his back squarely against the wall. He looked to Dawn, his eyes brown and teary from the guilt and lingering pain. He knew exactly what he had just done to Buffy and had almost let himself do to Willow. He hadn't even _realized _what he was doing until his heart started beating again, and he was about to bite Willow. He put his hand over the bloody indent in his chest.

Dawn looked back to him, rage in her eyes. "You?" she asked in disbelief.

Keeping his hand over the hole in his chest as he spoke, Xander continued with a slight nod. "I did it, but she'll survive."

"Why did you do this? _How _could you do this?" Dawn demanded.

"Lee stabbed him," Buffy explained weakly as she woke.

Xander looked over at Buffy, so guilty he could barely speak. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Buffy excused as Willow helped her to sit up, against the wall. "I shouldn't have let this happen to you in the first place."

Willow put the last piece of tape in place, securing the bandage.

Xander scoffed at her comment. "Yes, it was my..." Dizziness hit him again, cutting off his sentence. He put a hand to his head, leaning back against the wall and looking at the ceiling. The urge to jump at _any_ of them suddenly gave him another unfounded burst of strength. There was no question that he needed more blood and if he didn't get some soon, what just happened _would _happen again.

"Is he going to be all right?" Buffy asked Willow weakly.

"I guess," Willow commented. Her voice was a little shaky. She could have just been killed "Most of the demons that are part of him have to be killed by magic, certain weapons, or other obscure circumstances... The Vampire is the only one who dies from the wood, but luckily it didn't kill _him_."

"Did you get the box?" Xander asked suddenly, looking back to them. The pain still tore at him with every breath, but remaining fairly still reduced it to a bearable amount.

"I couldn't," Buffy answered sadly. "But it's still protected. If I'd have gotten a hold of it, then had Lee attack me, it would have been destroyed."

"Are either of you going to be able to handle another round with him?" Anya asked.

Buffy nodded. "He won't have a weapon, and now that we know he's unchained, he doesn't have the element of surprise."

"And Xander?" Anya continued, looking down at him. "When you're healed up, will you still need more blood? Buffy seems a little tapped out."

Xander gave a weak smile. "If I didn't feel like there was a hundred-pound weight on my chest, pinning me against this wall, I'd be needing _a minute_ to say the least... And _when_ it feels like I can move, I'll be far less talkative."

Buffy got to her feet, feeling her strength returning quickly.

"All right," Spike said, standing. He looked to Dawn and Willow as they, too, got to their feet. "Grab his legs and I got his shoulders. We'll put him in the empty cell 'til we can figure out our next move."

Dawn and Willow were both apprehensive of coming so closer to him.

Xander nodded a little, his eyes half-mast. The beating hearts of his friends were sounding a little too inviting. "That's the best suggestion I've heard yet." He sat up straight, looking right at Lily and Renee. There was something about them that wasn't right… It suddenly occurred to him what was wrong. "They're vampires!" he accused loudly.

Renee and Lily broke into laughter as everyone looked at them.

"So what?" the taller girl asked. She nodded towards Spike. "He's one, too."

"They left us here to die," the other girl admitted. "We just started working for them last night because they offered such a good paycheck. They stiffed us and now all we want is to make it out of here."

"They're lying," Xander said simply, his eyes still glued on them.

Renee sighed. "All right, we were supposed to put up a fight and try to kill all of you when your guard was down. We knew that wouldn't work, but when it _was_ working we figured we'd just play human and let you get us out of here. _They'd _have kill us if we didn't agree to stay here."

"We're just as eager to survive this as you all are," Lily finished

Xander suddenly had a thought. He hoped he wouldn't regret it in the long run, but it seemed to be a solution for right now. "Buffy and Spike, take them back into the _Staff Housing_ and lock the door. Everyone else should just stay back here." He forced himself to his feet, wobbling a little and not standing completely straight.

Spike and Buffy did as suggested, heading past Xander and towards the lab. The vampire girls didn't argue with the idea and willingly went into the empty room.

Xander followed slowly.

Buffy took the key off the hook and locked the door, putting the key back on the hook.

"You seem to of come up with a plan so: now what?" Spike asked.

Xander began slowly, his posture slumping a little from the remaining pain in his chest. "The recording said that a vampire's blood would work, and that blood from a package wouldn't work as well."

Buffy understood where he was going, and, seeing how labored his speech was, continued for him. "Those Vampire girls were left here for you to get your blood from, and we all know I'm not going to let them leave this building."

Xander nodded slowly. "I know I shouldn't do it, but I…" Even though he'd just had more than a pint of Buffy's blood, a hunger pain hit Xander, forcing him to his knees. He was taking deep breaths, trying to drown out the new pain as well as the one in his chest.

Buffy crouched beside him, and Spike joined her at his side.

He looked right into Buffy's eyes, feeling his own eyes and teeth becoming more frightening. "What I did in that hall… I didn't even really know what I was doing… I-If I do that to one of them, if I actually gave in and got blood by _biting _the way I just attacked you…"

"That's exactly what you have to do," Buffy agreed suddenly.

Xander was panting a little, his instincts suddenly focusing on Buffy's beating heart. "You have to understand at least one thing first: if I bite them there's nothing to keep my brain from saying 'Why not just bite everyone else?' and I _know_ that's the way it would work out."

Buffy nodded. "We'll have to risk it or you _will_ start biting everyone."

"You sure this is a good idea?" Spike asked her.

Xander stared blankly, considering what to do.

"Yes, or he might hurt one of _us_," Buffy continued. "We can't open those doors until we've cured Lee, at least, because he poses the greatest risk if he some how escaped into the city."

"No offense, Xander, but I don't think you can handle what'll happen afterwards," Spike began to explain. "It's like throwing raw meat to a starving dog; you'll get a taste for it and the canned stuff might not do the trick."

Xander finally nodded, shifting his eyes to the floor. "I have to do this or I'll kill someone rather than _something_." He was a little pleased that this would end by destroying a pair of vampires rather than by hurting any more of his friends. He pushed himself to his feet, a little frightened by how eager he was to be locked in the room with the vampires.

Buffy went straight to the door and pulled the key off the hook.

Xander stumbling a little as he followed, stopping beside the door.

Buffy put the key in the lock, and opened the heavy, metal door.

Xander went quickly inside, his mind racing as he spotted the girls sitting at the back of the spacious room.

Willow and the others agreed it was time to return to the lab and find out what was being planned. They caught sight of Xander slipping into the room.

Buffy shut the door quickly, and threw the lock.

"What are you doing?" Willow demanded, the others wondering exactly the same thing.

Buffy turned back to them. "I'm doing what has to be done."

They heard a crash from inside the room, and suddenly someone was beating on the door.

They all took a few steps away from the door, staring as the metal began to dent from fist marks.

"C'mon! I told you we just wanted to make it out of here!" Renee shouted, continuing to pound.

Lily began to scream, then her voice faded.

The beating suddenly stopped.

"Stay the hell away from me!" Renee yelled.

They continued staring at the door as everything fell silent.

Xander stared for a moment at the motionless vampire laying on the floor. He crouched down beside her. He rested his right hand on her throat, just as he had the first, and let his hand become as hot as fire.

Renee's body fell to ashes, her head effectively removed from its body..

He felt stronger than he ever had, and the strong taste of blood in his mouth was more satisfying than he could have imagined. The scientist were right: his fill of _fresh _blood had been exactly what he'd needed. The pain in his chest and stomach had completely faded.

Buffy took a step towards the door. "Xander?" she called. "Are you all right?"

It suddenly felt like something had slapped him in the face, waking him from the fabulous dream. He realized what he'd done to the two vampires, and how much his body was wishing he'd get another chance to do the same thing to a human. This reality made him slip to his knees as he began to feel numb. Images of his actions flashed before his eyes… The fear in their faces…_ I'm not that type of person_ he told himself.

"Xander?" Buffy called again, holding the key tightly in her hand.

He took a deep breath. His face and hands fell back to their human form as he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'm ok," he called back weakly, realizing that his hands were shaking a little. It hadn't been like this when he'd attacked Buffy. This time he'd been fully aware of every gesture he'd made, deciding every movement as though he were doing some sort of a waltz.

"Can I unlock the door, or should I wait a while?" Buffy asked, happy that he'd finally replied. Even though he _had _replied, it was easy to tell that something _was _wrong.

"You're all safe," he assured, this time his voice was shaking a little. He was too preoccupied by what he'd just done to over-think how he felt about coming face to face with a person. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn't hungry anymore. "Unlock it when you want and I'll be out soon."

Buffy put the key in the lock, turned it, and placed the key back on the hook.

"Why'd you two let him do that?" Dawn asked after a moment.

Spike shook his head. "_I_ was against it, too, but now that it's done, _it's done_. If anything changed with him, we'll just have to deal with _that_."

Anya wasn't happy with that answer. "Now that he's gone through the motions, doing something like that _again _will seem easy, and we're all out of _evil_ vampires for him to do that to."

"Xander and I talked about that, and…" Buffy began to argue, but cut off in mid sentence as the door opened.

Xander took a step into the lab, some dried blood still near his mouth and on his cheek. His hands were still shaking a little, but he tried to hide it. "I…I'm…" His voice shook. He wasn't really sure what to say, or if he could speak properly even with the words on the tip of his tongue. Some horrible part of him was overjoyed that he'd been given the opportunity to kill those vampires, but whatever was still _him_ inside felt like hiding in a dark room until they could leave the building.

Dawn and Willow seemed to be the most frightened by him at that moment, their eyes a little teary and wide with shock.

He cleared his voice, hoping that it would work, and then folded his arms. "I'm ready to go up against Lee."

Buffy looked at him, able to see that he wasn't feeling very good. She put her hand on his shoulder.

He jumped a little and pulled away, his arms falling back to his sides. "I'm fine," he lied quickly. "We can all discuss how much of a monster I've become once this is over."

Buffy nodded. "All right," she said as though she were humoring a small child. "We can do that."

"But I-I guess I better get cleaned up first," Xander decided, changing his mind. His skin was crusted with blood, and the paper towels near the sink would be good enough to clean himself up.

No one made any argument.

Xander went over to the sink, tearing off a few paper towels and getting them wet at the faucet. He started to wipe at the sensitive, blood encrusted skin. Flinching, he wiped at it again. He decided it would be easier to clean away the blood if he took off his shirt, so he slowly pulled the torn shirt over his head.

Everyone but Buffy headed towards the stairs that led to the hallway and exit, wishing to keep well away from Xander. Buffy, however, went over to him, stopping a few feet away as she figured he'd request if she got any closer. "Can I give you a hand?"

Xander shook his head. It was easier to concentrate on wiping away the blood than it was to look at one of the friends he'd been willing to murder. "I can handle this." His voice was still shaking a little. He tossed the soaked sheet beside the sink and the new sheet under the water, cleaning again and still avoiding eye contact.

"Can I at least help you with your back? Unless you can pull an _Exorcist_ move on top of everything else, you can't reach it."

Xander finally gave a small nod, looking to her sadly and handing her the towel. He turned his back to her.

She ran it under the water again and easily cleaned away the blood.

All that was left of the wound was dried blood over normally colored skin.

"You're all healed, as far as I can tell," Buffy said cheerfully, still gently wiping. She tossed the towel on top of the old and wet a new square, cleaning again.

"I just can't apologize enough," he said suddenly, in a quiet voice. "I've had to take blood from you two times, and with the way I was feeling, I could have actually kiledl you... I could have killed you like I did that girl and I just did those vampires…"

"And I can't seem to _forgive_ you enough," Buffy pointed out. "There's nothing permanent; I'm alive, you're still my friend, and those vampires needed killing, anyway. Besides, you've only acted on what your were feeling as a last resort, so you're _not_ just a demon. "

"I-I didn't _just _kill those vampires," Xander confessed quietly. He could tell his hands had started shaking again. He rested his hand against the counter. "I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and it was so easy that it scares me."

"_That's_ why you're not really a monster," Buffy decided. "I mean, because it scared you…"she amended quickly, "not the liking part because that _is _a little creepy."

Xander shook his head. "All these years I've been saying that even if a demon _acts_ like a human, they're still just a demon that should be killed. Anya, I thought, was an exception. With Angel, and even Spike, I _couldn't_ believe that a vampire was anything _but_ a demon. These days that philosophy makes me a hypocrite; I'm in that situation right now. Some little part in me is still _really_ human and has all that _human_ logic…"

"That's what I'm getting at," she interrupted.

He continued, "…But everything else... just makes me _really_ twisted and no better than any other monster you've killed in your _vast _career."

"Twice you've needed my blood, and, despite what you were felling at the time, you've _twice _let me live," Buffy corrected, wiping the very last of the blood away. "Turn around."

He turned to face her.

She began to wipe away the blood from his chest. "Even if we can't give you a portion of _this_ cure, none of us will stop until you're _all_ human again and..."

Xander suddenly caught hold of her towel-holding hand. Looking at her was too distracting.

She paused, a little alarmed by the gesture.

He took the towel from her as he released her hand and began wiping away the blood by himself, looking to his work again.

Buffy understood and took a step back, continuing. "And... And then we'll kill all of _those _vampires."

The others were resting on the steps that led to the exit. None of them had gotten much sleep the day before, and just _waiting_ gave them a chance to realize how tired they really were.

Xander had wiped away all of the blood, tossed the sopping towel by the sink, and put on the stained shirt.

"What's the plan now?" Tess asked Buffy and Xander, noticing that he seemed to be done _cleaning up_.

"Now, we head back into Lee's room," Xander answered.

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5:30 am-- Outside Room #1

This time, Tess agreed to man the door so both Spike and Xander would be free to hold Lee. Buffy would again be in charge of getting to the box. Dawn, Willow, and Anya were left to wait in the lab.

"So you two just grab him, and…" Buffy began to plan.

"It was fun, wasn't it?" Lee shouted to Xander, his face pressed against the small window. He looked out into the hall at the four of them. "Just letting go?"

Buffy stepped away from the door, surprised by his presence.

Xander acted as though he didn't understand what Lee was talking about.

Lee gave a short laugh, looking to Buffy but still talking to Xander. "I could smell her blood from in here." His eyes shifted back to Xander. "And the two other vampires that were here? I'd like to know _exactly_ what you did to them." He smiled eagerly. "Every detail."

"Get away from the door," Xander ordered him. "We don't want to hurt you, we just want to make everyone human again."

"Everyone but you…" Lee reminded with a cheerful laugh. "Why is that fair? You get to keep this _gift _while the rest of us are just sitting ducks for you to pick off?"

Xander didn't reply. He was still shaken by what he'd done to the girls, and realized that Lee may actually be right about what would happen when he was the only real monster in the building.

"If you tell me what you did to them, I won't fight back," Lee said, still smiling through the window. "I could _hear_ what happened, but I want you to tell me what they looked like… And what they _tasted_ like…"

Xander turned back to Spike. "When I was in the Staff room, I noticed there were some locks on the inside, too. Go back into the lab and tell the girls to lock themselves in there until we've finished with Lee."

Spike nodded, heading back to the lab.

"I could break down that door in a second," Lee taunted.

This time Xander laughed. "Then why are you still in _this_ room?"

Spike returned. "They're safe."

Lee's smile faded. His bluff had been called and they weren't as frightened by his threat as he thought they'd be. He still had one piece of ammunition: what Xander was so ashamed of doing to those vampires. His smile returned. "You're dying to tell someone, aren't you? You can't tell the rest of them, or they'd think you were some sort of _monster_. But I'd understand… I know what it's like."

Xander stared at Lee unflinchingly, determined to keep his brown eyes and human teeth. "My friends probably already think I'm a monster, so now comes the time to see if they're right." He knew Lee's only way of escaping was if Xander was distracted when they opened the door. His mind was suddenly clearer than it had been all week. He looked to Tess and gave a nod.

Tess put the key in the lock, suddenly too frightened to turn it.

Xander reached up quickly, turned the key, and rushed inside, grabbing Lee by the throat with his right hand and by the arm with his other. He slammed him hard against the wall, holding him in place.

Buffy rushed past the struggle and went to the bubble, reaching quickly inside.

Spike followed, grabbing Lee by the free arm and helping to hold him against the wall.

With one, quick kick, Lee freed himself from Spike, knocking him into Buffy and both of them to the mat.

Spike was hit with an electric shock when his arm brushed up against the bubble during the fall.

The bubble was still in tact and both got to their feet, a little shaken.

"That wasn't smart," Xander warned, getting a better grip on Lee and then slamming him into the wall again with just less than all of his strength. He wanted to stun Lee, not break bones.

Buffy reached into the bubble again as Spike rejoined Xander, punching Lee in the stomach.

Lee, barely stunned, punched Xander in the face, and then again in the chest, hopping that it was a sensitive spot. He kicked Spike again, sending him back to the mat.

Buffy pulled out the box and hurried for the door.

Xander was a little off balance, but kept his grip. "I'm all better," he explained quickly. He pull Lee away from the wall, suspending him in the air with one hand, and then threw him violently at the wall.

Lee was propelled so hard into the wall that he slid to the floor, unconscious.

Buffy, Spike, and Xander went back into the hall. Tess slammed the door behind them and locked it.

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5:55 AM - The Lab

They silently headed back into the lab. None of them felt it was necessary to mention Xander's behavior, finally accepting it as the norm.

"You can come out," Xander shouted at the closed door.

A latch was thrown and the girls trailed back into the room.

"Everything go all right?" Dawn asked as everyone went to the counter.

Willow had opened each box and spread out the contents: vials, each filled with a different colored liquid; syringes; and one large beaker, likely meant to be used when mixing the liquids together.

Buffy handed Willow the last box.

Tess answered. "Fine. Xander held onto him while Buffy got the box."

"Hey, I helped, too," Spike said quietly.

Willow opened the box: one more syringe, a glass vile of green liquid, a glass stirring wand, and a piece of paper. She unfolded the paper and read aloud:

_Combine each bottle of liquid in the larger beaker in a specific order: Red, Blue, Green, then Yellow; mix for 30 seconds; fill syringe with just over 8 cc. Let mixture set in syringe for at least 2 hours and administer through an injection in the arm, torso, or neck. Also, when administering the shot, be sure that the recipient is given no less than the 8 cc or symptoms may not be completely cured._ _Remember to clear the air bubbles before giving the injection; an air bubble in their vein could be fatal when it reached the heart. _

"They're such a ray of sunshine," Tess complained.

"Aren't they, though?" Dawn agreed.

"It sounds like a cake mix more than science," Xander said.

Buffy thought a moment. "This could still be poison," she reminded. "Maybe we should start with someone in the rooms." She looked to Tess and Xander. "That's not really to say that their lives are expendable, but..."

"...They're too dangerous to live the way they are," Tess interrupted, finishing for her. "If it turns out to _not_ be a cure, you would probably have had to kill them anyway."

Buffy nodded, looking back to Willow. "Ready to give it a try?"

Willow nodded, uncorking the bottle with the red fluid and pouring it into the glass beaker. She continued by pouring in the blue, green, and yellow. Then, as instructed, she picked up the stirrer and began to mix the colors together, looking at the generic, hospital-style wall-clock mounted over the door to the worker's barracks.

Anya went back over to the steps and sat, bored and knowing they were in for a long wait.

The time had passed and Willow filled the first of the needles, tapped it, and sparingly squirting out a few drops out of the tip to get rid of the air bubbles. She filled the next three in the same manner with a little more than 8 cc, and put the remaining 2.5-3 cc of liquid in the last. She put down the last of the needles. "It's 6:05 now, so can start on them as early as 8:05," she announced to the room.

"Since we have two hours to wait, we should all try to get some rest," Buffy suggested.

Xander nodded before speaking calmly and quietly. "You guys can grab the pillows that are in there and lock me in that Staff Room again if you want; I don't mind."

"That sounds good," Anya announced loudly. "Having _some_ barricade between you and us is exactly what will let me get a little sleep."

Xander didn't wait for any of the others to comment; he went into the empty room and began to gather the pillows in his arms to take out of the room. No one made a move as he opened the door again, threw all the pillows out, and shut the door."

Anya got up quickly and locked the door.

Nobody was very happy with the way Anya was showing her opinion, but they realized she was just being brutally honest; she was acting the way they all actually felt.

Xander heard the door being locked. There were still a few pillows he'd been wanting to leave with them, but he decided to gather them up for himself. He went to the far end of the room, hoping that his distance from the activities of the other room may help him rest more comfortable. He laid down on the floor, positing a pillow under his head.

The others each grabbed a pillow and did the same, all attempting to find a comfortable position within the cold, hard room. Tess left the group, going back into room number three. She, like Xander, hoped staying away from everyone would make it easier for her to rest.

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	4. Hopes and Dreams

-1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:20 AM - The lab

It hadn't taken anyone very long to fall asleep. Buffy had only been dozing on and off, trying to keep track of the time. Finally, she decided that it was time that they get started.

"It's time to get up," she called to the room.

Everyone woke quickly, sleeping lightly to begin with.

Tess had heard the announcement and wandered back into the main room with the others.

Buffy went to the door and unlocked it, staring into the dimly lit room. "Xander? It's time to start giving the shots."

Xander was sitting in the corner, and had obviously been awake for most of the morning. When he'd fallen asleep, he'd had a nightmare about busting down the flimsy door and attacking all of his friends. It terrified the _Xander _part of him, but excited everything else. He'd opted to stay awake to not only avoid more dreams, but also to make sure he didn't somehow do exactly what he _had _dreamed.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked as he stood.

"Sure," he answered automatically, joining the others. The dream had jarred him even more than he realized. The horrific images popped into mind as he looked at his friends.

"How _all right_ is _sure_?" Anya demanded. "You don't have the fangs right now, but that doesn't mean you're really _all right_."

Willow stepped in front of Anya before she could say anything else. "Now that the sun's up, are you feeling any different?"

Xander nodded. "Could have been from not sleeping, but I'm more tired and a little weaker than before."

"I figured that would happen," Willow said easily. "The Balford in you usually sleeps during the day, so that'd explain the fatigue. As long as the sun's up, you'll probably be feeling this way. Why couldn't you sleep?"

"Bad dreams," he answered quickly.

"Do you need blood?" Buffy asked him bluntly, knowing it was a question that needed asking.

Xander shook his head a little, looking at her. "Once we've cured a few of them, I think it would be best if I opened that door and had Anya go to the hospital."

Buffy nodded, looking to the three that had been in the hall with her the last time they'd entered Lee's room. "Since Lee seems to be the most dangerous, I think we should try this on him first. We'll use the same routine. Even if Lee looks like he's asleep, treat him like he's faking it; we can't afford to be taken by surprise again."

The four of them, and Willow with the syringe, headed back to the hall. Anya and Dawn were again left in the lab to wait.

Tess unlocked the door again, and Spike, Buffy, and Xander rushed inside, picking Lee up by the arms, legs, and throat to hold him in place.

Lee tried to get away from them, but he couldn't pull away from the padded wall. Willow followed them inside, joining them beside Lee. She pulled up his sleeve and gave him the shot slowly.

"This isn't fair!" Lee shouted as best he could.

"I'm the one with the short straw," Xander explained.

Buffy looked at Willow, trying her best to hold Lee's arm still. "He's kinda heavy," Buffy complained. "Can you hurry it up?"

"Done," Willow called, the syringe finally empty. She took a few steps back.

Lee started thrashing at them more violently, kicking Buffy to the mat.

Willow ran from the room, stopping outside the door with Tess.

"You really want to get hit again," Xander pointed out, pulling his fist back to do just that.

Lee suddenly grabbed onto his chest, falling to his knees, and gasping for air.

Spike and Xander backed away from him, helping Buffy to her feet as they watched.

Lee fell on his stomach to the mat, unconscious again.

"I'm going to check his pulse," Buffy announced, taking a step towards Lee.

Xander caught her by the arm, to stop her. He released her just quickly, his excitable senses overreacting to the gesture. "His heart _wasn't_ beating before; it still isn't. He might just be trying to get us to drop our guard again."

Willow took a step into the room again, looking to her friends. "We should probably give it some time to work. Changing him to begin with was, apparently, not an instant thing, so it might be the same to change him back."

The trio agreed and followed Willow into the hall. Tess locked the door again behind them and they went back into the lab.

"What's the verdict?" Dawn asked eagerly. "Cure or poison?"

"We don't know yet," Willow answered.

Xander put his hand against the wall, catching his balance as he started to feel a little dizzy. He wasn't feeling exceptionally hungry, so he wasn't sure why he was feeling dizzy. "I think I should open the door pretty soon."

"It's probably just because of the Balford again. Like I said yesterday, they _literally_ can't stay awake during the day," Willow explained. "You're just really tired."

A sharp, beating sound came from one of the cells.

Everyone looked towards the hall.

One more sharp thud and the door flew off of Lee's cell.

"This is just _great_," Anya commented sarcastically.

They all gathered in the far corner of the lab with Buffy, Xander and Spike ready to defend the group.

Lee came running out of the cell and directly for the exit, ignoring the others.

Xander, Spike, and Buffy all hurried for the hall to find out what was happening.

He looked completely human now, but, as he began to beat at the door, the metal was dented by his fists.

"Lee!" Buffy called, running at him.

Lee casually backhanded her, sending her sailing towards her friends.

Buffy was on her feet quickly.

With one more hit, Lee sent the door off it's hinges and clattering to the pavement outside. He ran out, heading towards the park.

Buffy, followed by Xander and Spike, ran after him.

Xander fell to his knees on the pavement, hit roughly with the light of Willow's spell so suddenly blinded by the sunlight that he couldn't keep running.

Spike passed through the doorway and stumbled back inside, unable to follow because of the sun shining near the horizon.

Xander got back to his feet quickly, looking back inside the building at Spike with a smile.

"We'll all be happy that the Spell still works, but you'd better hurry or you might not be much use to Buffy," Spike instructed from the shade.

Willow came running past Spike, catching Xander by the arm to turn him around. "Come on!"

They both ran after Buffy and Lee.

Getting nearer to the playground in the park, Buffy overtook Lee, tackling him to the ground.

Lee was wheezing as though he were having trouble breathing, but he managed to throw Buffy off of him and to the ground. He forced himself to his feet, glaring at her.

Buffy stood, ready for whatever might come next. "Lee, can we just talk about this and _not _fight? You're dangerous."

"What is the_ Hell_ is going on?" Lee demanded. "Why am I feeling these things?"

Xander and Willow finally caught up, stopping beside Buffy.

Buffy looking to Xander. "Is his heart beating now? He's talking more like Stephen."

Xander looked at him, trying to hear the heartbeat.

"At least _this_ isan improvement," Willow commented, looking at Lee fearfully. "Sounding more like Stephen, I mean. At least Stephen seemed to _want_ to be peaceful."

Lee was panting with a hand on his chest, pained by every breath.

Xander's senses were too dulled to even hear Buffy or Willow's heartbeat. "I can't tell because of that Spell. I think it's working better than it was. I could hear and smell all sorts of things before, but not now." The one thing that wasn't dulled was the intensity of the golden light being sifted through the trees. It burnt his eyes and warmed his skin in the cool temperature of the morning. Another unrelenting aspect of his physiology that remained was how tired he while the sun was in the sky.

Lee fell to his knees. "Yes, it's beating and it hurts," he said weakly. "Oh, God... Please help me..."

"Come back with us into the building," Buffy began. "If you don't try to hurt us, we _will_ help you."

Lee nodded, trying to stand. His eyes had become a warm shade of brown, presumably meaning he was becoming more and more human every moment.

Buffy and Xander went to him, pulling Lee to his feet by the arms.

"I guess this means it wasn't poison," Willow commented optimistically, heading back to the lab.

"Poison?" Lee asked nervously.

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9:00 AM - The lab

When Xander had passed into the building, he could feel the rush of sensations as the spell was lifted again. They'd waited a moment just inside the door before continuing back into the lab. Dawn, Spike, Tess and Anya were waiting in the lab when the others finally came back into the room.

"Everything all right?" Spike asked, looking to Lee.

"That shot brought him back," Xander explained with a yawn, feeling even weaker now that the spell had been blocked.

"I still feel a bit ill," Lee corrected. "But better than I did a few minutes ago."

"You can sit down," Willow offered him, gesturing to the steps where all the others had always chosen to sit.

He gratefully sat down.

"Well, this means you can give the shots to the others," Dawn said to Willow happily.

"Could some of you please fill me in on what's going on?" Lee asked.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Tess asked him.

Lee thought a moment. "I was cutting through Central Park, on the way home from a meeting, and someone mugged me; I couldn't see who. The next thing I know, I'm running through _this _park, and I felt like Superman with a hangover. Then I get tackled, and you know the rest."

"Lee, excuse us for a minute," Xander requested, motioning for the others to follow him to one of the counters.

They all gathered around apprehensively, still not sure how close to Xander would be all right.

"If he doesn't remember, I _don't_ think we should fill in the gruesome details," Xander whispered. "We should send him to the cops, and Andy might be able to get this guy back to New York. If we had Andy pick him up right now, we could have him start tracking down those vampires while we finish with things here."

Buffy shook her head. "If we don't tell Lee about this, there's nothing to stop him from mentioning all of _us_ to the other cops, and if we let him go _right now_, we're still not sure what kind of effects to expect after the shot has been working a while. For all we know, this amnesia could be temporary…or even the _cure_ could be temporary."

Lee spoke suddenly. "You'll think I'm crazy if I'm wrong, but I'm remembering some other things... Monsters... And blood..."

"Problem solved," Anya chirped happily. "The amnesia _is _just temporary."

"Oh God..." Lee whispered, putting a hand to his mouth in shock. "I killed a person and _I_ was a monster, too... I was a vampire, or something like one…"

The others broke away from their circle, no longer in need of a secret meeting.

Willow went over to the counter, picking up another needle. "Room two or four?"

"Two," Buffy answered. "Lee hit the _Stephen_-ish phase in less than five minutes, then was pretty peaceful. We don't know what to expect from Olivia." She looked to Tess. "Just to be safe, I think we should wait until last for you, just in case something happens to Lee after a while."

Tess nodded reluctantly. She was eager to be _normal_ again, even if it meant re-living all the trauma slowly. She'd had months to get used to living like a monster, but to experience everything all over again, memory by memory, wasn't very inviting. "Plus I'm not like the others; we don't know how I'll act."

"Wait a second," Xander requested tiredly. "The door's all ready open, so I think we should have Anya go to the hospital for me."

"All right," Anya agreed, sounding happier than she had all day. She went quickly up the steps towards the door.

Xander followed. "I'd have figured _you_ were the one person who _wanted_ to see me suffer," he called after her. "You'd wanted someone to _wish_ a _worse_ punishment on me not too long ago."

They passed into the parking lot.

The same, magical light hit him again, sending him off balance and back to the pavement. Happily accepting the price of sore knees, he stood again, feeling very human.

Anya laughed, turning back to him. "This would be a very fitting wish against you. All you've done since you met Buffy is try to fight demons who kill people to survive. For you to become one with a soul is more poetic than you can imagine."

Xander stared at her, expecting her to give that sort of answer. He, too, could see the irony.

Anya made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Seriously, I'm over all of that, but I can't say I haven't enjoyed your suffering. Don't think that means I'm not going to be one of the people who helps to make it stop." In the blink on an eye, Anya had disappeared.

Xander found some shade against the building near the door. He sat down and waited. Sitting there, alone, he began to feel exactly how differently the spell was working on him. He couldn't see, hear, or smell any better than the average person. It was almost as though the spell had still been gaining its effectiveness while it was being blocked. He ran his tongue across his teeth. Just as they always were with his human face since he'd been changed, his teeth remained slightly pointed.

Willow came through the door, into the lot, looking around.

"You should just wait inside," Xander called to her.

She looked at him with a smile, going over to him. "So my spell's working on you when you're outside?"

Xander nodded. "Strong as ever; like it hadn't been off me the whole time."

Anya reappeared with a bulging, flower-print bag over her right shoulder and a black t-shirt in her right hand. She reached into her bag with her left hand and pulled out a plump package of blood, thrusting it at him. "I stole the bag from a patient's room, saw that you needed a new shirt, and _here_ is what you actually wanted."

He stood and took the package quickly. He turned away from the women as he messily tore into the corner of the package with the residually pointed teeth. He was hungrier than he'd realized.

Both Anya and Willow looked away, eyes scanning the parking lot for lack of anything better to focus on while ignoring Xander.

"With all the blood he's been needing, I have enough to last a full day," Anya explained. "That is, if he doesn't get stabbed through the chest again. Who _knows_ how many of _these _he'd need if that happened," she asked rhetorically.

Xander finished the bag, throwing it to the pavement beside the overflowing dumpster. The _desire _for more blood was lessening by the moment as he felt more and more like his old self. The taste had disappeared completely; it was like drinking thick, red-colored water. "I need another." If he was short by even a drop when he reentered the building, he may as well be in the same situation he was in when he walked through those doors the first time.

Anya turned around and handed him another, rejoining Willow just as quickly.

Xander took it and began drinking it in the same fashion, turning away from them to spare them the spectacle that even _he_ found grotesque.

Xander finished the other package and discarded it in the same manner. His heart was beating at a normal pace again, and he looked back to the others, trying to wipe any remaining blood from around his mouth. "All done," he announced quietly.

"Are you ready to come back inside?" Willow asked him, turning back to her friend.

Xander gave a small nod, a little frightened. Outside, his wish to _feel normal_ was granted in full, but, inside, he wasn't sure he was strong enough to hold everything back again. The struggle drained him, and, weather inside the building or out, the sun wasn't helping him feel any stronger.

Willow led the way, followed by Xander and then Anya.

Once again, Xander paused upon passing over the threshold, startled by the rush of sensations and strength, and finally disturbed by the desires surfacing within him. It wasn't nearly as terrible as it had been, but he still wasn't accustomed to that hyperactive state-of-mind.

They went back into the lab.

Anya set the bag on the counter next to the needles containing the cure. She pulled the shirt from the bag, tossing it to Xander.

Xander caught it, quickly pulling off the torn and bloody shirt, and puling on the clean black one. He gave a chuckle, seeing the words in dark red lettering that were written on the front on his shirt. "Who did you say you got this shirt from?"

Everyone but Lee turned, amused. The message asked "_got blood?_" in a fashion meant to mock the "_got milk?_" dairy campaign. Lee was still sitting on the steps quietly looking at the floor.

"Some guy was getting an x-ray," Anya answered easily. "There was a pile of black clothing and I just grabbed the shirt."

"Xander?" Lee called to him seriously.

Xander turned around, still a little uplifted by the humor of the shirt. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I stabbed you," Lee said sincerely, looking up at Xander.

"That's ok," Xander lied as well as he could manage, too obviously loosing his cheer. That injury had stunned him so badly that he'd attacked Buffy. To further prevent the lie from being discovered, he turned to Buffy and changed the subject. "We may as well not waste any time."

Willow picked up one of the needles. "Sounds good."

Xander led them down the hall, and Tess, Spike, Willow and Buffy followed.

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9:45 AM - In the Hall Outside Room #2

Tess grabbed the key off the hook and unlocked the door, throwing it open quickly.

Xander, Spike, and Buffy rushed inside, just as they had before.

Stephen had been sitting quietly on the floor but stood, looking almost confused, as they entered.

The group pinned him against the wall, each taking the same position on Stephen as they had Lee.

Stephen began to struggle, kicking and thrashing.

Willow came inside quickly, jabbing him just as she had Lee and slowly pushed the liquid into his arm.

_Not too tight or you'll break his arm_ Xander reminded himself suddenly, realizing how hard he was actually gripping Stephen

With one burst of strength, Stephen threw Xander off his arm and then kicked Xander to the mat. Stephen grabbed Willow around the throat with his free hand.

Willow let go of the needle. It was sticking out of Stephen's arm like a dart as she tried with both hands to get away.

Stephen threw Willow towards Spike and Buffy, knocking them away from him. He pulled the needle out. It was nearly 2/3 of the way emptied of the liquid.

Xander jumped up at Stephen, tackling him to the floor.

Stephen, still conscious, stopped struggling. Some of the vampiric traits were disappearing and his eyes became brown.

Buffy and Spike pulled Xander up, revealing the empty needle sticking out of Xander's right shoulder.

Willow ran out of the room after the needle with the leftover portion of the mixture. If Stephen was going to react the way Lee had, by running when he got back to his feet, she needed to give him the last of the shot before he did.

Xander, his hand shaking violently, pulled the needle out of his shoulder and dropped it to the mat. He suddenly fell to his knees, gasping as pain began shooting through his body every time his heart pumped.

"Xander," Buffy called quickly, going to his side.

Spike quickly pulled her away from him. "Careful," he warned. "We don't know what this'll do to him and keepin' a distance, something' he's been spouting a lot lately, would probably be the best thing."

Xander's claws, four sharp teeth, and strangely colored eyes had resurfaced. He scrambled away from all of them, pressing himself against the wall, his eyes wide from the shock of the pain as he stared fearfully at the floor. His skin was crawling and his veins felt like they were on fire.

Willow came back into the room with the other needle. She injected Stephen in his arm quickly.

Stephen finally lost consciousness, falling onto his stomach.

Willow looked back to Xander.

He was breathing a bit more easily. The pain was passing, but his skin was still tingling a little. He put his hands over his eyes, rubbed them a little with a sigh, and looked back to his friends. "That wasn't very smart of me, was it?" It was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling. He'd been weakened, that was true, but he almost felt like he was hungry _again_.

"How do you feel?" Willow asked him nervously.

"Weird," he said, standing up with a yawn. "But pretty much the same; maybe a little more drained." Xander looked at his long fingernails to see if there was any change and was surprised by the return of the coal-colored stain. "Why do you think that happened? Wasn't the point of that mixture to make me _more_ like a normal person again?"

Willow took a moment to think, biting her lip. "M-Maybe..." She wasn't sure if she was right and she didn't really know how to word her theory.

"Spit it out," Spike urged.

"Maybe the way it works is like splashing turpentine on a painted canvas," Willow began to suggest. "In this case, think of four of five colors on top, and about twenty underneath; that would represent the dominate and recessive traits of the various demons... The chemical will smear some of the layers as it uncovers the blank, human canvas."

"So we don't really know what's been uncovered and what's been destroyed," Buffy translated.

"I think I'd better stay outside," Xander suggested. "Magic is the only guaranteed way to white-wash all the demon parts into _looking_ like the canvas."

Stephen began to wake up. He slowly pushed himself to his knees and looked at the group with confusion, rather than the rage they had been seeing. "What's going on?" He looked to Xander with an expression of shock. _That man looks like a monster..._ Stephen thought to himself, trying to stay calm.

"You'll start remembering things in the next few minutes," Willow assured quickly before looking back to Xander. "I'll come with you."

Xander gave a nod and they left the room, went down the hall, and startled Lee on the way up the stairs. As Xander stepped into the light streaming in through the doorway, he jumped backwards into the shade; the light burned his skin.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked, stopping in the light of the doorway.

Even the glare of the sunlight was burning his eyes and searing his skin. "I-I think we found one of the smears."

"We don't have any blankets with us... but I'll get Spike's coat," she offered. First, she looked outside. "The shade you were in before is gone, but there's some shade from the trees in the park. Would that be enough? Or should I walk you to the parking garage across the street?" She looked back to him, a little surprised. "Your eyes... They're a-almost back to normal."

The whites of his eyes had returned to white, but the irises were a mixture of red and gold.

"That's good, considering I found _another_ problem..." Xander began slowly, still experiencing discomfort from the indirect light. "I've been trying to make myself _look _normal since that shot stopped feeling like acid, but I just can't seem to make everything disappear. That's why I figured _outside_ might be a good thing."

Willow nodded. She headed back down the hall to the lab for Spike's long coat.

Stephen was sitting on the steps near Lee, struggling through the things he was beginning to recall.

The others had gathered near the counter with the last two syringes, both filled with adequate doses of the cure.

"So, has he mentioned what that shot is doing to him?" Buffy asked.

Willow looked to Spike. "He needs to borrow your coat." She looked to Buffy. "He can't handle sunlight or do the demon-face-to-human-face thing, so he pretty much wants to just go outside. The spell will kick in again when he does, so he'll feel a little better."

"Did he mention if he _felt_ any different?" Dawn asked. "Is he _acting_ any _weirder_?"

Spike slid off his coat and handed it to Willow. "If he does start to act a little bit off, or somethin' happens, just give a call." He reached into the flower-patterned bag on the counter and handed a plastic package of blood to her. "Given his _meal schedule_..."

Willow shook her head, refusing to take it. "If he actually needs it, I'll come back in and bring it to him then. He won't get violent when the spell is on him, so I won't be in danger."

Tess looked to Buffy and Spike. "Olivia is still tied up, so we don't need Xander to give the shot... I'm strong enough to do more than just hold the door."

"I'll watch the door," Dawn offered.

"But who will give her the shot?" Willow asked. "I'll be with Xander..."

"Me," Anya offered in a bored voice. "I've been taking people apart long enough to know how to hit a vein with a needle."

"All right," Buffy decided, looking to Willow. "We'll handle Olivia while you help Xander."

Willow nodded and headed up the steps with the coat as the others headed towards the hall of rooms.

Xander was on the floor with his back against the wall, asleep. His nails were still long and stained nearly black, but he otherwise looked no different than he had when she'd left him.

She approached cautiously, unsure of how to wake him. She remembered hearing that the last time he'd been asleep the result of waking him had been a panicked, mindless action. Using the tip of her shoe, she gently tapped him at the sole of his shoe. "Xander..." she whispered, ready to jump back at his first sign of movement.

Xander opened his eyes a little, still pained by the brightness.

Willow took a small step back. His eyes were a golden-brown that was lighter than his usual color. They seemed a mix of vampiric yellow and his human shade. "Are you feeling different?"

Xander shook his head as he rubbed his eyes and stood. "Crazy as ever." The exact same urge to jump at her for the sake of violence and blood had returned as though he hadn't had anything to drink that day. The only real difference seemed to be that he still couldn't hide his monstrous appearance.

Willow stepped foreword again and handed him the jacket. "When it comes to all of us actually leaving, I'll make a run to the car and find the blankets."

Xander pulled the coat over his head and clutched it tightly closed in the middle.

"So, where to?" Willow asked.

"The closest patch of shade you can find," he said quickly.

Willow put a hand to his back and escorted him outside.

As soon as he stepped across the threshold, he felt the spell take hold and he was forced to stop walking. A sharp pain was sweeping through his joints, pricking at his skin, stinging his eyes, ripping at his fingernails, and sending an ache through his teeth. Finally, he felt thoroughly numbed by the magic.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked him quickly.

"I'll tell you in a minute," he said. "When we get to the shade..."

They kept walking until they'd reached the shade of a neighboring building.

"All right," Willow said. "We're in the shade."

Xander slowly pulled the jacket off his head, unsure of how the ambient light would feel. Happily, there was no more pain; not even to his eyes. He dropped the jacket to the ground, noticing that his claws and teeth had, for the most part, been turned human. His long teeth were just small points, and his fingernails were short with only slight discoloration.

"Nice to see my magic can still do _some_ good," Willow commented, also noticing how human he was looking.

Xander nodded, looking out into the sunny parking lot. Impulsively, he extended his arm into the light. The sunlight sharply stung his skin but didn't turn it red or even make smoke. He pulled quickly back into the shade, feeling pain despite no outward mark. "It may not look it, but that hurt like hell. Your magic didn't solve all my problems."

Willow gave a sharp, irritated sigh. "This magic was supposed to keep you from wanting to hurt people, not make you completely human again; that was just a nice side-effect so you shouldn't complain."

A sharp cry broke the silence and Olivia came running out of the doorway, stumbling aimlessly as she tried to protect herself from the sun. Her skin was beginning to let off smoke as it turned red.

Xander dove quickly into the light, the pain hitting his skin like he'd just been splashed with boiling water. He grabbed Olivia by the arm and dragged her into the shade with the same force he could have displayed inside the building. The pain faded quickly and he held her thrashing form against the wall, sadly realizing that one more trait no longer smothered by Willow's magic was his dangerous level of physical strength.

Olivia was still being seared by the light, and struggling to get away from him.

Willow picked up the jacket, throwing it over Olivia's head.

Xander let Olivia drop to the pavement, hiding in a lump under the jacket.

Willow looked to Xander, about to ask if he'd been badly burned, but Buffy came running out of the lab.

"Did you see Olivia?" Buffy asked quickly.

Xander pointed to the slightly shaking jacket. "She's under there; the light was hurting her."

"Speaking of," Buffy began to Xander, joining them in the shade, "it looks like you're doing better in the light and you definitely _look_ better. How do you feel?"

"Sunlight doesn't affect my skin--you know, like _catching fire_ or charring or anything--but _pain_ is definitely a factor. I think I might actually be as strong as I am inside, which is good for a fight but generally dangerous," Xander began to inventory. "Happily, I'm not _feeling_ all the other things, but when I go back into that lab I'll have to deal with all of them, too."

Buffy nodded a little. "But once we've given Tess the last shot, and gotten them all ready to be taken to that Detective, we'll track down those other vampires and we won't stop until we've gotten _you_ the cure, too--a full dose, that is."

"And in the meantime I'll consume more blood every day than most of the operating rooms I steal it from," Xander pointed out pessimistically. "That is, unless I snap one day and decide to _get it from the source_, you might say, and let a few people die."

Olivia lifted the jacket, looking out from under it at each of them. She stopped on Xander, a little jarred by what he had just said. "W-Where am I?"

"You're safe with us," Willow assured her a little more kindly than she had Stephen. "I think you'll be all right if you come out from under there."

She did as suggested, letting the heavy leather jacket fall to the pavement. "How did I get here?"

Buffy answered this time. "We're not sure, exactly, but your memory will come back pretty soon. We should go back into that building," she gestured to the open door, "and you can sit down until you do start to remember."

Olivia nodded a little, still in a dazed state.

Buffy put her hand on Olivia's shoulder and led her back through the door.

"How much of that stuff do you think was in the syringe?" Xander asked Willow after an awkward silence. "How much more of it will I need to make a full dose?"

Willow didn't answer right away. "I'm not really sure how much was left in it when you were injected."

He looked to her quickly. "So how do we know that Stephen got as much as he needed?"

She shook her head. "We _don't _but I'm _pretty _sure he got _more_ than the full dose."

"You have to see if it really worked--you have to bring him outside, and then test him with a cross and..." Xander rambled urgently.

"I know we should," Willow interrupted quickly, a little irritated. "With my magic working on you, it's all right for us to be close. I realize that without it, you're dangerous. Basically, out here is the only place you _can_ be the old you. Because of this, I'm trying to concentrate on _you_ for the moment, unless you have a problem with that."

Xander shook his head, feeling a little dizzy from a mixture of sleepiness and something else he couldn't be sure of. "I don't have any problem with that, but what more is there to concentrate on?" He rubbed his eyes and gave another yawn before turning back to her. "All of them will be cured, and I'm worse off than I was before. That's pretty cut and dry, right?"

Willow didn't answer.

"Not that I was planning on having much of a life as that _thing _I was an hour ago, but at least it wouldn't have been so obvious. I could have gone out into the sun without so much pain, and I might have been able to stay awake during the day," Xander explained sadly. "But if it weren't for your magic, I'd _look _completely like that monster right..." He stopped talking as his vision began to cloud and he felt a spinning sensation. Xander hit the ground hard, his eyes unfocussed.

"Xander!" Willow shrieked, kneeling at his side to make sure he was all right. She checked his pulse. It was faint, but at least he still had one. "Wake up!" she demanded, shaking him by the shoulders.

"What happened?" Buffy asked from the doorway, rushing over to them.

"He just fell over!" Willow explained frantically.

Xander blinked, not sure how he'd gotten to the ground, but he was able to feel the pain in his elbow from the apparent impact. He sat up slowly, still dizzy.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked quickly.

"I don't know," he whispered, still feeling weak and groggy. "Probably."

"Do you need blood, or are you just tired?" Buffy asked right away.

He shook his head a little. "I don't know."

"We'll help you back inside; you need some sleep or something, and I don't think you can just sleep out here," Willow explained.

"Besides, if you're inside, you might be able to establish what that dose of chemicals has actually done to you," Buffy agreed.

Xander didn't argue as they helped him to his feet. They were both right: if he was going to get some sleep, he couldn't get it outside, and to figure out what had actually made him pass out, he needed to see how he was really feeling.

Willow threw the coat over his head, and they led him towards the building.

Despite his vision being blocked by the coat, he could feel the magic wearing off several feet from the doorway. As he passed the threshold, he was sorry that he agreed to come inside. Not only was there a slight ache as his teeth, eyes, and fingernails changed, but he was hit with hunger pains so severe that it was as if he hadn't had any blood at all that day. His mind began to cloud as he threw off the coat. Before he could pinpoint whatever else he was feeling, he'd suddenly grabbed onto Willow, pinned her shoulders the wall and found himself positioning to bite her on the neck.

Even her Slayer reflexes couldn't have prepared her for that moment: in the blink of an eye she was staring at Xander as he seemed ready to kill her best friend. Buffy tried to pull his arm away from her, but he seemed to be much stronger than she was.

Xander easily pushed Buffy to the side, his eyes still on Willow's neck.

Willow let out a short scream, too frightened to take any other action.

The sound brought him back to what was happening. He stumbled away from Willow quickly, terrified by what he had almost done. He pressed himself into one corner of the entrance hall, and slide to the floor with a dazed expression. The pain was still present, but he forced himself to ignore it. If he paid too much attention to what he was feeling, he feared he would be on his feet again, trying to hurt one of his friends.

Willow stood silently, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at him.

"Are you all right?" Buffy asked her.

She could barely move, but seemed to make a motion similar to a nod.

Buffy turned around to face Xander.

Spike came running down the hall, unsure of what he might find. "What's happening?" he called as he arrived.

"He attacked Willow," Buffy confessed.

Finally able to move, Willow ran past Spike, and down the hall towards the main room.

Spike went over to Buffy to get the details, but she pushed him away from her to stare at Xander.

"Xander?" Buffy began in a small voice.

"Barely," he panted quietly as he looked back to her. He put his hand to his head, dizzy again and more exhausted than he ever remembered feeling.

As his eyes caught the light, Buffy was a little surprised to see that his irises had changed to yet a different color: a metallic sort of gold. At no point had she remembered Willow mentioning pointed ears, so she was even more surprised when she noticed the slightly pointed tips to Xander's.

Willow came cautiously back down the hall carrying her backpack, Buffy's slaying supplies, and a few packages of blood. She went straight to Buffy and Spike and set her supplies on the floor. Sitting on the floor by the items, she slid one of the packages of blood towards Xander.

Quickly, Xander picked up the package, tore a hole in the corner and began to drink.

Willow looked away, taking a few papers from her bag. She pulled out several sheets: the list of demons that had been in some way added to Xander; the ones she'd confirmed to be a part of him; and the physical traits and abilities of all the different demons on both lists.

Xander finished the bag of blood, laid it on the floor quietly, and looked back to Buffy and Willow.

"Xander, can you do a few things for me?" Willow asked as bravely as she could. He'd just tried to kill her, but she wanted to be firm. Like she'd said outside: he was dangerous in here, and _not_ like the friend she knew. She made a note on her paper of how absolutely pale he looked and the fact that his ears seemed to have points at the top.

He nodded a little, not sure what he could say to any of them. The pain had passed, but the mixture of sensations and urges he was feeling matched those of when he'd first entered the building. It was almost as strange a feeling being near his friends as what he'd felt venturing into the room to kill the two vampires. This frightened him more than anything else he'd _ever _seen or felt.

"Can you try to melt that plastic bag for me?"

He nodded again, picking up the package. Doing things exactly the way he had before, he concentrated on making his hands feel warm. Nothing was happening; his hands didn't feel any different, and the bag remained the same. "It didn't work," he said quietly with a little bit of a smile. "This must mean that shot was working the right way on me after all."

Willow nodded absently, looking more concerned as she dug around in Buffy's bag. She pulled out a cross, a plastic bottle of holy water, and an arrow. One by one, she slid the items to Xander. "The cross and water are pretty obvious."

Xander did as he was told. He picked up the cross, feeling a little warmth. "I-Its warm, but doesn't hurt."

Willow made a note on the paper.

Sliding the cross back to them, he moved on to the water. Pouring a little into his palm, the sensation was the same. "It's like it's been in a microwave for a minute, but otherwise fine." He closed the bottle, and slid it to her.

Willow made another note as she put the cross and water away. She looked back to Xander without showing any emotion. "We didn't have a knife with us tonight, but the arrowhead should be sharp enough to see how fast you heal."

He wrapped his left palm around the arrowhead, and swiftly pulled down on the shaft with his right. It felt like a paper cut when it happened, but the pain disappeared instantly. Dropping the arrow, he looked back to his hand. There was no mark, and only a few stray droplets of blood. He slid the arrow back to them. "I healed faster than before; I didn't even have time to bleed."

Willow nodded as she wrote. "Do you still feel tired?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Very," he said simply. He felt that if he shut his eyes, he could easily fall asleep.

Willow pulled a small flashlight out of a zippered portion of her bag. "Can I come closer to look at your eyes?"

Xander nodded, hoping that it really _would_ be all right.

Willow crawled over to him, and put a hand under his chin to position his head correctly. She turned on the light.

He blinked a few times before managing to keep his eyes open. The light, even looking to the side of it, seemed to be as bright as looking directly into the sun.

"Zurika," she whispered to herself as she looked at their coloring. No red ring around the pupils, and the whites were perfectly white. The only thing different was the shiny-golden color of his eyes.

"Don't you mean '_Eur_eka,'" Xander asked her.

She turned off the light and let go of his chin, shaking her head. "Not really, but I guess both would apply. By what you seem to be feeling, and by the way you look, there are a few demons that have been flushed out of you by that shot, but the few that are left could be the most dangerous."

Xander had been dreading that that would be the answer.

"Turn your head a little," she requested.

He did as he was told.

She brushed some of the hair away from his ears, just to make sure she really _had_ seen points. "All done," she announced.

He looked back to her for answers.

Willow reached behind and picked up the paper she had been writing on. She circled two more things with her pen and handed it to Xander for him to examine. "The ones I circled seem to be what's left. If any others are there, they're too weak to have influenced your behavior or physical form at this point."

Xander skimmed the list, remembering that she had mentioned most of them at the motel.

"Lazlon," Willow began to recite. "are extremely violent, several times stronger than vampires, and have to drink blood nearly all of the time just to stay alive."

Xander read the section on Lazlon Demons. "And that's why I have these points on the bottom teeth. I didn't bother asking about that before."

Willow nodded and continued her list, "Deshkleave are also violent. They have long, dark-colored, poisonous claws can keep a person's blood from coagulating for at least 24 hours after the poison enters the bloodstream."

Xander looked quickly to his fingernails. "But before, when they weren't black, you thought they might have been poisonous…"

She nodded quickly. "In that final shot they wanted to cover the discoloration but also gave a stronger dose of the Deshkleave in hopes that they would remain poisonous."

"And Bijou?" he asked, looking at the blurb she'd writing.

"That's why you have pointed ears."

Xander reached up quickly, feeling the tops of his ears. "That's definitely new." He lowered his hands back to the paper, reading.

Willow nodded. "They survive off on human blood, and are pretty violent. There was one case of a peaceful one in Europe, but that's the only case any researchers seem to know of."

"_That_ strong?" he asked under his breath.

Buffy and Spike were both a little curious.

"_How _strong?" Buffy asked.

Willow answered. "The strongest and fastest breed of demon who can pass as human."

Xander looked back to the paper. "And outside of what I know as Vampire in me, that leaves just the Zurika. You said before that they're really violent and impulsive."

"An understatement," she corrected. "They're some of the most violent creatures on the planet."

No one in the room reacted very well to that news, growing even more eager to hear Willow's rational for thinking the Zurika may still be a part of him.

"When you came in here and the spell wore off, you acted on instinct because your body was in such a starved state. Also, Zurikas have metallic gold or silver eyes, depending on what continent they were found on. Your eyes are gold, so the Zurika they used is from South America," Willow announced. "But there's one more demon on that list. It, combined with the human in you, was able to stop you before you...Well…"

Xander nodded. She didn't have to say what he'd almost done because it was obvious. He looked to the list. "Balford Demons? The nice people on the night shift?"

Willow nodded with a small smile. "They're virtuous and peaceful."

"And you're sure there's still some of that left in me?"

She smiled again. "First, all the other demons on this whole list, except for Vampires, have healthy to dark-looking skin, but you're like paper."

Spike gave a small laugh. "Vampires don't even get as pale as you, mate."

Willow continued. "Balfords don't go out during the day, so their skin is naturally that pale. On that note comes number two: you're tired during the day. Balford Demons are physically unable to stay awake when the sun comes up."

Tess came slowly down the hall, and looked at them all with a sad expression. "I've been listening to all of this, and now that we know the cure _could _help Xander, I think he deserves it more than I do," she said sadly. Suddenly, she ran outside. The sunlight was beginning to burn, but she ran as quickly as she could into the light, trying to avoid the shade so her end might come more quickly.

Buffy grabbed the coat off the floor as she and Willow followed at a run.

The pain to Xander's skin as he ran into the light was excruciating, but he knew he was more likely to survive this stroll than Tess was, so he followed, too. Passing through the doorway, he forced himself to continue running as the spell hit him uncomfortably.

By now, Tess's skin was smoking, but she kept going. Her speed was well beyond human, but she feared her attempt at suicide may still be stopped.

Buffy was catching up as Willow fell farther behind.

Xander's speed increased as he forced his eyes open. Running blindly was easier on his eyes, but he could run more quickly when he didn't think he would run into a wall or a car. He passed Willow, continuing to gain on Tess's smoking form.

Buffy was just feet behind her. Making her move, she threw the heavy, long coat over Tess's head and jumped on top of her, tackling her to the pavement.

Tess struggled to push herself up, but she was too weak from the burn and running to match the Slayer's strength.

Seeing that Tess was safely under the coat, Xander dove into the shade of a car parked beside them. "Tess, are you all right?" Xander demanded. "What were you thinking? Why did you do that?"

She looked up a little from under the coat, her cheeks streaked with tears. "I wanted this to be over, and I didn't want to take your _great _life away from you just so I could live a long, depressed one. I'll never be able to forget what I've done."

"You mean drinking blood?" Willow asked as she joined them, out of breath from trying to catch them.

Buffy helped Tess into the shade next to Xander, making sure she was well covered by the coat. Buffy sat on the other side of Xander so, as Tess looked out from the side of the coat, she could see Tess more clearly. Willow sat in front of Xander, also wanting to see Tess as she spoke.

Tess shook her head. "M-My boyfriend… They didn't kill him, _I_ did."

"You lied to us?" Buffy asked in shock.

She shook her head again. "I wouldn't have hurt any of you. It was about a week before it finally happened. He was the one they put into the cage with me when they were turning me into this… They gave me that shot, and did the same thing they did to Xander: took blood from me and sliced Johnny up to try to get me to hurt him." She looked to Xander. "I even had the same idea as you: tie myself up just to make sure I wouldn't do anything."

"Did that actually work?" Xander asked her.

"No," she answered. "After about a day, they took the restraints out of the room, and gave me another shot. The shot didn't seem to work, so, a few hours later, they gave me another…and another. After about four or five days, Johnny told me I should just get it over with and kill him. He didn't want _me_ to have to suffer anymore shots, and he knew there wasn't any chance that we'd get out of there."

"So that's when you killed him?" Willow asked.

Tears were falling quickly from Tess's cheeks. She nodded.

"The others did the same to the people thrown into their cells, and they'll find a way to live with it," Xander said. "You'll never forget, but you'll be _alive_. You can still have a good life."

She shook her head, holding back a sob. "You deserve to have your life back. You and your friends help people, and make a difference in the world. What will _I _ever do? Finish college and work in some office? How does that compare? You're worse off than me, so if you're cured, you wouldn't ever have to take another life."

Xander shook his head, giving a sigh. "If I let you give me this cure, I'll have taken _your_ life." He looked at her very seriously. "I refuse to take the rest of that medicine. Either we're both stuck this way, or you can get back to your life."

"B-But I heard what's part of you now. How can you live like that?" Tess asked quickly.

"I have friends, and you've probably caught on that Willow's a witch. Look at me out here," he suggested. "Her magic is keeping me feeling human. The longer the magic is working, the less I feel and look like the monster. Besides, we're going to find the scientists, stop them, and _then_ I'll get the cure."

Tess gave a small nod, finally breaking into sobs.

Xander leaned over and wrapped his arms around the jacket, giving her a hug.

"As long as we're out here, I'm going to head to the car and grab some blankets," Buffy explained, getting to her feet.

Xander was still holding onto Tess. She was crying even harder now.

"We'll be here when you get back," Xander told Buffy.

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10:25 AM - The Lab

Tess and Xander were both covered in the thick blankets as they were led into the building by Willow. Buffy trailed in behind them, carrying Spike's coat over her arm.

"Everyone all right?" Spike asked them as they came into the foyer.

Anya and Dawn had joined him, but the other patients were still in the main room.

"We thought Tess looked upset when she came to talk to you, but we didn't think she'd make a run for it," Anya confessed.

"Everyone's fine," Willow explained, walking all the way to the wall to make sure the others had room to enter.

Tess came in, moved out of the light, and took off the blanket.

Xander did the same, glad that time he was coming in after having had enough to drink. The violent feelings were still there, and the fierce features had returned, but at least it wouldn't be much longer until the spell worked inside the building as well as it did outside. He wished there were fewer people trying to cram into the small entry room; it would make him feel better if he didn't have to be so close to everyone . "We should head back to the others. We're running out of room in here."

As Buffy came inside, she handed Spike his coat.

They gathered up the things they'd brought into the hall and went back into the main room of the lab.

The other patients looked pale and upset. By then, all three of them had remembered everything they'd done when they weren't human, but they were still quite shocked when they laid eyes on Xander's demonic features.

Everything they'd carried from the other room was placed on the counters, out of the way.

"Are you ready for the shot?" Willow asked, picking up the last dose of the cure.

She nodded, going up to Willow. "Should we go into another room, or can the other's go into the place the workers stayed? I don't want to hurt anyone if I try to get outside."

Buffy nodded. "One of the padded rooms might not hold you, but if there's a door and _us _between you and the exit, you might not get burned again."

Willow led her down the hall and into room number one, one of the two closest to the main room.

Tess shut her eyes tightly, not looking at the needle.

Willow held Tess's left arm and gave the injection slowly. She pulled out the needle, backed out of the room, shut the door, and locked it.

Tess sat down, feeling dizzy. Her heart was pounding furiously. She put her hand to her chest, not sure what would happen next. Finally, she began to black out, slumping sideways and hitting the floor.

Xander stepped forward, in front of the others. Two of the last three people who had been given the injection had had a burst of strength and run for the exit after falling to the floor. If she went outside, she'd be burned again and he didn't want that to happen. He hoped he'd be able to grab onto her and keep her inside the room.

"S-Should we still head into the workers' room?" Olivia asked. "Lee managed to break down the doors to his cell, and…" she broke off, hearing a faint beating sound.

Buffy opened the door to the other room quickly. "Xander, Spike, and I will stay out here, but the rest of you should go inside. You probably wouldn't be hurt if you stay here, but it might be for the best if you're out of sight."

The group filed inside as they were instructed.

The pounding became louder, and louder.

"Spike, you just guard the door to the others," Xander began to instruct. "I'll worry about stopping her because she can't actually hurt me. Buffy, you talk to her when she snaps out of this; try to calm her down. With the way I look, I can't do that part."

They heard a crash and saw the door fly into the hall. Tess came running out of the room. Her eyes were yellow and unfocused, and her face lacked expression.

Xander ran in front of her, but as if she didn't see him, she didn't stop.

She ran into him so hard that he lost his balance.

As he fell backwards, he grabbed her by the leg, tripping her to the ground.

Kicking and thrashing, she tried to get free.

Xander held her firmly, focusing on not gripping too forcefully or accidentally scratching her with a fingernail. He twisted around and got to his feet, flipping her onto her back.

Her eyes were blue again, and seemed to hold a bit more consciousness. She was still fighting to get away and had yet to look directly at him. She kept looking towards the hallway that led to the exit. "Let go of me!" she demanded.

Afraid he might be holding her too tightly, his fingers loosened a little too much and he lost his grip when she kicked at him again.

She rolled back to her feet and tried to run.

Xander caught her with his arms around the waist, lifting her feet off the floor so she had no choice but to stay inside.

"Let go of me!" she sobbed. "Where's Johnny? Where am _I_?"

Buffy hurried in front of the struggle, realizing it was her turn to help. "Tess? You're all right. We won't hurt you; we're trying to help you."

"Make him put me down," she begged. "He's hurting me."

Instantly, Xander lowered her. The last thing he'd wanted was to hurt her in any way. He turned his back to her before she had a chance to look at him. The other thing he wanted to avoid was frightening her.

"W-What am I doing here?" Tess asked, swaying a little as she looked between all three people in the room.

"You can sit down over here," Buffy told her, gesturing to the steps.

"Answer me!" she demanded, looking to Buffy.

"You have a problem with your memory right now, but in a few minutes you'll start to remember what's happening," Buffy assured, still patient despite Tess's demeanor.

"And what about Johnny?" Tess demanded. "Where…" she trailed off. Realization swept across her face and her expression went slack. "Someone locked me and Johnny in a room together." She seemed a little dazed now.

Buffy nodded. "You should sit down." She took a few steps closer to Tess. Buffy received no more arguments as she led Tess to a seat.

As if a movie were playing in front of her eyes, Tess sat, still and silent, staring at the tiled floor.

Xander glanced over his shoulder at her, feeling even sorrier that he couldn't be the one to sit next to her and help her through these memories. Feeling ill suddenly, he made his way to the handbag Anya had stolen, grabbed a package from it, and went towards the padded cells. "The others are safe now," he called over his shoulder to Spike. "You can let them out."

Spike did as suggested and opened the door, allowing the others to come back into the main room.

Xander sat down in room number five to drink the package of blood privately. Tess was recovering in the other room, but he still felt jealous of all the others. He tore the edge of the package and began to drink.

"Should we call Andy now? Xander gave me the detective's business card and I programmed the number into my phone," Dawn explained. She pulled the phone out of her pocket.

Willow nodded. "I'll talk with him a little while to figure out our options when to comes to getting these people back to their homes."

Dawn handed her the phone and Willow headed down the hall to talk outside.

Tess looked around at them. "Where's Xander?" she asked them suddenly, looking calm but very tired.

Xander finished the bag, and tossed it to the side. He sighed as he got to his feet, trying to clear all the thoughts out of his mind. Not only was he worrying that he and his friends would never find the scientists, but he was dreading that those demons might not give him a cure even if they found them. He stepped into the main room.

Tess got to her feet quickly and ran up to Xander, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

That was the last thing he'd expected to have happen when he entered the room. It was still over an hour before Willow's spell would began working inside the building, so the gesture was not as harmless as it should have been. Despite the fact that he'd just had a meal, the hug stimulated the predator within him as strongly as ever. He pushed her away quickly, taking a few steps away from her, into the entrance of the hall. If it were even possible, his teeth suddenly felt even sharper than they had been.

"S-Sorry," Tess told him remorsefully. "I just wanted to thank you for…"

"That's all right," he interrupted restlessly, still not feeling that he was in control. He looked towards the other, focusing on Buffy. "I'm going to sleep for a little while. Could you wake me up sometime after noon?" He looked back to Tess. "At noon, I'll be back to the way I was outside, so I'll feel a lot better. I just-" he backed towards one of the cells "-can't be around people when I'm like this." He looked to see which cells still had doors. Only number two and three hadn't been damaged at any point. Turning off the light-switch outside of number two, he closed the door and laid down on the well-padded floor.

Tess looked back to Buffy. "Is he always like that around normal people?"

Buffy nodded. "He's been like that around all of us since this happened. Distant, and won't really open up. He probably thinks its safer for us all if he keeps up what he's been doing."

Tess sighed. "I heard what you said was in him, now, so I could see how much harder it would be for him. That's why I wanted him to take the cure in stead of me."

Willow came back into the room and looked to Buffy. "Andy is going to come here with a couple social workers. We settled on the idea that they were kidnapped by a cult and don't remember anything that happened."

"What are you talking about?" Lee demanded. "This guy, _Detective Thomas_, seems to know the truth, so why can't we tell other cops what really happened here? We want these monsters to be stopped before they can do anything to someone else."

Stephen and Olivia nodded in agreement, but Tess shook her head.

"Do you really think that cops are prepared to believe that demons exist?" Tess asked Lee. "_One_ cop knows the truth and odds are he didn't have very much fun when he found out; he probably didn't believe it right away. How would the rest of the force, if they were told and believed it, even know how to stop them? And what if they all ready have more victims in cages? What do you think the cops would do? They probably wouldn't try to help them." She looked at Stephen. "You're some sort of cop, right? A sheriff or something? If you'd have busted in here, would you have tried to help any of us? Or would you have shot and stabbed, and asked questions later?"

"Why should that matter? They could learn what they have to do from these people," Lee continued, looking around at Dawn, Anya, Spike, Willow, and Buffy. He paused on Buffy. "You haven't exactly told us _why_ they're all so great at dealing with monsters, but you _do _seem to know what they're doing."

"That's my point exactly," Tess said. "_They_, these people, know what they're doing. We should leave them out of whatever story we end up telling the cops, and then they can set off right away to stop the scientists."

"Plus this guy, _Xander_, still needs the cure," Stephen began to realize.

"He sacrificed his own future so all four of _us_ could be normal again," Olivia continued.

Lee finally nodded. "If the cops deal with it, there's no way they'll be able to give Xander a dose of the cure." He looked to Willow. "So, what exactly do you want the four of us to tell the cops when they look into what happened?"

Willow began to explain what all of them should say.

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11:55 AM - The Lab

Andy, followed by two women in suits and a two men in medic uniforms, came cautiously down the hall.

The first of the women was fairly short with brown hair in a pony tail and she carried a clipboard. The other woman was quite tall with red hair tied back in a braid, and a detective's badge attached to her belt. Both men were average height and build, and each carried a medical bag. One man had black hair and the other, light brown.

Tess, Stephen, Lee and Olivia were all still seated on the steps, and Buffy's friends were standing in the middle of the room, covering the last details of their stories. By then, Willow and the others had gathered up the beaker, syringes, bags, and empty boxes, and taken them to the rent-a-car; anything to disprove the claims that they hadn't been in the building for very long was hidden away. Given that it was not yet noon, Willow had yet to explain any of this to Xander.

"Is everyone all right?" Andy asked the crowd as he entered the main room. He looked around at everyone as he came down the steps to join Buffy.

The women and the men followed. The men stopped right in front of the four people on the steps, easily identifying them as the ones who had been kidnapped. The woman with the clipboard joined the men while the red-head joined Andy, pulling a pad and pen from inside her pocket.

"Which one of you is Willow?" Andy asked.

"That's me," Willow confessed, raising her hand a little.

"Can you please introduce us to all of your friends," he requested.

One by one Willow pointed at each of the people in her group. "This is Anya, Dawn, Buffy, and…" She paused at Spike. _Spike_ didn't seem to fit as the nickname for a law abiding citizen, so she decided to introduce him by his given name. "William."

"It's nice to meet you all," he said pleasantly. He gestured to the red head. "This is my associate, Detective Rebecca Stanley. She is in charge of investigating these kidnappings. Because of Xander being drugged and left in an alley for dead, I've been temporarily reassigned to assist her on this case." Andy looked back to the crowd near the steps. "Anna Black is the social worker who'll be helping to track down their families. Kris Perry and Bob Rice are just the medics who'll treat any injuries."

"I just have a few questions concerning your involvement in this," Rebecca announced, looking to all of them. "How did you happen to choose to notify Detective Thomas of this, rather than simply dialing 9-1-1?"

"We called Andy because of Xander," Buffy explained simply. "He's the man who was on the news a few nights ago. He gave us the number."

"How do you know Xander?" Rebecca asked, making a short note on her notepad.

"We don't," Spike said calmly. "Just met him today."

Rebecca glanced to the two men sitting on the steps. "Is one of them Xander?"

"No," Anya answered.

Rebecca looked around the room. "Where _is_ Xander?"

Willow nodded. "He's asleep in room number two."

"There are rooms?" Rebecca asked quickly.

Dawn pointed towards the hall. "Five of them."

"Why is he still in there?" she asked.

"He was feelin' kinda sick," Spike answered. "Didn't really elaborate." He looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 12:10. He looked to Willow. "Maybe you should go wake him; he should come out here and tell them what he knows."

"Wait just a moment," Rebecca said quickly, making a note on her pad. "I only have a few more questions for the rest of you. How, exactly, did you come upon this location?"

"We're visiting from California, and decided to spend Christmas somewhere where it was actually cold," Dawn began, explaining things as Willow had instructed. "We were walking through the park, heard some yelling, and saw the broken door. When we got here, everything was like this and they," she gestured to the four people on the steps "were all strapped against the walls of their rooms."

Rebecca looked to Willow. "You can wake Xander up. I'll be getting statements from the others." Rebecca turned, and joined Anna and the medics.

Willow hurried to the hall of rooms, and quickly knocked on the door.

Xander woke pretty quickly, feeling almost as good as he had since the last time he was outside.

Before Xander said anything, Willow opened the door, stepped inside the dark room, and shut the door behind her. "Are you all right?" she asked quickly, her eyes searching the pitch-black room for Xander's outline.

"Fine," he answered. "What's so urgent?"

Willow sat on the mat and quickly raddled of what he was supposed to say when he was asked questions by the detectives.

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12:45 PM - The Lab

"What's taking Willow so long?" Rebecca asked impatiently. She'd gotten statements from all four of the others all ready, and Willow had left the room before she'd even begun. Impatient, Rebecca followed the path Willow had taken towards the hall, and stopped in front of the one marked with a two. Just as she was about to knock, the door opened.

Xander had heard her approaching the room. Though it seemed much quieter than it had a few minutes ago, the spell that was working to make him more human had yet to diminish his sense of hearing to the level of an average human. Willow had told him everything he was supposed to say, so he felt prepared for almost anything. He stepped into the hall, followed by Willow.

"What was taking you so long?" Rebecca asked Willow suspiciously.

"I was still feeling sick," Xander answered for her. "All the light and noise was making it worse. She was sitting with me until I was ready to come out."

"Are you feeling well enough to answer some questions?" Rebecca asked him.

Xander nodded. "Sure."

They trailed back into the lab.

"Take a seat," Rebecca suggested, gesturing to the space on the steps next to Tess.

Xander did as suggested.

As though he were fresh meat in a lion's den, the two medics and Anna focused only on him. The medics began to take is pulse, blood pressure, and temperature.

"Can you give me the address and phone numbers of the family members you wish to have contacted?" Anna asked him softly.

Before he could answer, Kris began to talk to him. "Your blood pressure is way below what it should be, your temperature is a almost two degrees below normal, and your pulse is pretty fast… You could be dehydrated and suffering from fatigue. Have you been eating and drinking enough? And getting enough sleep?"

He looked to Kris and remembered what Willow had told him. "I don't really remember much of the last couple of day, but I'm definitely tired." He turned back to Anna. "I haven't really been gone for that long, so my family wouldn't have reported me missing. Willow and her friends volunteered to help me get home, so I'll just talk to family then."

This time Bob spoke, announcing to everyone on the steps, "We'd like to take all five of you to the hospital for overnight observation."

"No," Xander said quickly. Willow hadn't really told him what to say if they wanted to take him to a hospital. "Not me; I'll be fine."

Kris shook his head. "Especially you. With your vitals that far off, we need to make sure it doesn't turn into something like pneumonia. And we need to run a blood test to make sure you haven't got some sort of an infection."

Xander looked back to Rebecca. "I'll answer your questions, but I refuse to go to the hospital."

Rebecca finally shrugged, looking to Kris and Bob. "It's up to him, so we can't force him." She looked at the other four. "What about all of you?"

"We'll go," Tess agreed for them all before the other three could say anything. "If you need evidence or something, you have us and won't really need Xander."

The other three nodded. They didn't like the idea of being the focus of the investigation, but the whole point of doing things this was to ensure that Buffy and her friends could leave without too much of a delay.

Rebecca turned back to Xander. "What do you remember? And what is the last date you remember?" She poised her pen on the pad, ready to make notes.

"I guess it was the night of Tuesday, December 12th. I was walking in the park…"

"What city and state?" Rebecca interrupted. "And do you recall the time?"

"Sunnydale, California… around 7 or 8," he answered easily. "Anyway, I was in the park alone, and something hits me on the back of the head. When I started to wake up there were about five or six guys carrying me into a car. They gave me some shot, and I was out cold. Every time I'd start to wake up from then to when I woke up in the alley, they'd knock me out again."

"Can you describe any of the people who gave you the shots?" she asked, still writing on her pad.

Xander shook his head. "No, I was always too out of it when they'd give me one."

"How did you end up back here?" she asked finally.

"Someone knocked on the door at the hotel, and when I answered it a couple big guys knocked me out with another injection."

"When was this?"

"Saturday afternoon… The 16th… Before I was totally out of it, they tore up the room pretty good."

Rebecca scribbled some more on the notepad before speaking again. "Then what?"

"I woke up in one of the cells, strapped to the wall. The door was knocked down and I could kinda see part of the lab--it was empty and quiet. I started to yell and kick. That's when I heard the other people in the cells. I talked with them a little, and we agreed to make as much noise as we could until someone came in here." He looked to Buffy's group who had begun quietly chatting with Andy. "That's when they got here and cut us all loose."

Rebecca continued to write things on her pad before finally looking to him with a slight smile. "Thank you very much for your cooperation." She turned away and went back to Andy.

Xander sighed, putting his face in his hands. He knew it had only been nearly two hours since he'd last had a drink, but figured his slight headache meant he was getting hungry.

"Are you all right?" Tess whispered to him, leaning close enough so only he would be able to hear.

Xander looked back to her, shaking his head a little. "I need to get out of here pretty soon. I hope this lady isn't going to keep us here much longer. If I pass out or something before that, there's no way I'm getting out of going to the hospital."

"Willow took all of _it_ out to the car so it wouldn't raise any questions," Tess explained in reference to the human blood in the bag Anya stole.

Xander looked up at Rebecca and Andy, about to ask them how much longer he had to stay when Andy spoke to the group.

Andy looked at Rebecca. "You and Anna can head back to the station. With the info she gathered, you can try to pinpoint the kidnappers' last locations. We might be able to connect them with more disappearances." He looked at Kris and Bob. "You can start to transport whoever's going to the University Hospital. We don't want them in the Glenn center in case the kidnappers decide to return. If you can't get everyone into the ambulance, these people seem well enough that _I'll _take whoever's left to the hospital when I leave."

"I'll ride with you, Detective," Tess volunteered, hoping to stay behind and talk candidly with Xander before they had to part.

"All right," Bob agreed. He gathered up some of his instruments and looked to the other three who were on the steps. "Follow us."

Kris picked up the bag and he and Bob led the others out of the building.

Rebecca looked to Andy suspiciously. "What exactly are you planning to do before you leave?"

Andy gave a small laugh. "I'm gonna call some lab guys to get out here and see if anything's been left behind. I was thinking about putting up some police tape so no one come in here before we had a chance to look at the scene. I'll make sure Xander makes it back to the hotel, and then I'll take Tess to the hospital… What did you think I was planning on doing?"

"I wasn't entirely sure," Rebecca said curtly. "You weren't being very useful when I was asking everyone the questions."

Andy became serious again. "You seemed to be asking enough questions for the both of us."

Rebecca looked very angry. "That is our _job_," she said through clenched teeth.

Andy sighed to calm himself. "I get that, but…" He decided to turn his ill-spoken statement into something a little more socialable. He would, after all, be working with Rebecca for a few more weeks. He smiled. "…Your questions were through enough that I had little to add. When you've left, I'll do the errands here while you begin with the things at the station."

"I'll be at the station with Anna when you're done with your _errands_," Rebecca agreed quickly, still not happy. She turned and left quickly, Anna trailing behind.

Andy waited a moment until he'd heard the car start up and drive away. The ambulance was still in the parking lot, but the crew would be too preoccupied with the others to return to the building. He looked to Xander. "How have you been the last couple of days?"

Xander looked at him and gave a laugh. "Overall, it's been a pretty rough week." Xander looked at Buffy and the others. "Did you stash the blankets in the car, too? Or are there some handy for us to leave right away?"

"They're in the car," Willow answered.

"I got the short version from Willow on what's been happening , but you guys gotta fill me in on the details before you leave," Andy said quickly.

Spike looked at him. "The short version probably didn't do ours or Xander's efforts much justice, but the cliff notes are just as good as the movie."

Xander shook his head, and answered differently. "Before we leave, _I'll_ fill you in if no one else is wanting to. Right now, I just want to get away from this lab. I need to some sleep."

Tess looked at Willow. "And he needs another package of blood. Before the others left, he wasn't feeling very good."

Xander nodded, looked to the tiled floor. His headache was gone, but he was a little dizzy.

Tess looked around at Buffy and her friends. "When I get released from the hospital, can I go with you and help you track these creatures down? I want to help Xander."

Xander shook his head and looked at her. "It's too dangerous."

She put her hand on his shoulder. "I don't care. I have savings in the bank, so I…"

"No," Xander said firmly, interrupting her. He looked to the others quickly. "Can one of you go to the car and grab the blankets. I still can't stand saying it, but, yes, I need a package of blood."

Willow nodded and headed for the door.

"I'll come, too," Buffy volunteered, following. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear Tess and Xander's argument.

"And me," Dawn added, following for the same reason.

"And how 'bout we be the ones to let Andy know what we've been up to?" Spike volunteered both himself and Anya.

Andy nodded. "Sounds good."

They headed towards the counter and Spike began to tell him the story, starting with when he and the others arrived at the motel.

Xander turned back to Tess. "You should head back to school and your family. I'd give anything to go back to my normal life right now, but I don't have the choice."

"But why shouldn't _I_ have a choice? I can go back to school any time, and I think my time would be better spent if I were trying to help you and your friends," she said firmly. She lunged forwards and kissed him.

Xander pulled away, shocked. "You don't even know me."

"But I _want _to know you. And how am I going to do that if I go back home?"

If he'd actually been human at that moment, and one of his other friends were searching for a cure, he might not have minded the sentiment. In fact, he might have allowed himself to feel the same way. Xander laughed uncomfortable, resting his hands on the edge of the steps. "You'll get over me."

"_Why _would I want to do that?" Tess put her hand on top of his, smiling contently.

He stood quickly, backing away from her out of frustration. "Why?!" he demanded loudly. "You actually have to _ask_ why?!"

Spike stopped talking and the others looked at Xander.

Tess was speechless, looking up at him fearfully. She was honestly starting to care about him, and she didn't know why he thought it was such a crime.

Andy seemed a bit pale from the story, and confused by Xander's outburst.

Anya was a little jealous of the attention Xander was giving to Tess. Xander had, after all, left Anya at the altar despite their love for each other.

Spike, however, seemed very interested in finding out what was going on.

Xander glared at the three who were watching.

They turned away, and Spike began speaking again, only just getting to the part where their group was breaking Xander out of the hospital.

"My _not being human _is pretty much at the top of the list," he argued more quietly.

"But that's not going to be for forever," Tess assured, standing.

"It might be," he answered sadly. "And I've seen too many monster-with-human relationships fall apart to even think about having one of my own... I mean _another_ one of my own." Xander paused before beginning to ramble on the subject. "I guess there have been more than a couple. That is, if you want count Praying-Mantis-Lady and the Inca-Mummy-Girl, and they were basically just one-date things. More recently the girl was an _ex_-demon, who's now back to full demon, but…"

Tess took a step closer to him, holding her hand up to stop him. "I was a monster for four months. This is a case of ex-demon, meeting demon who is very-soon-to-be an ex-demon. It doesn't matter to me that you're not completely human."

"It matters to me," Xander said in a tired voice, feeling weaker than he'd felt a few minutes ago. He was really looking forward to getting back to the hotel.

"Then what about having another _friend_? One who is willing to be _more _ than a friend when you're ready?" she asked hopefully.

Willow and the others came down the hall before Xander had a chance to give answer.

Tess backed away to let the others past her.

"…And that's when Tess goes running outside!" Spike narrated enthusiastically.

Andy's eyes were wide, hanging on every word of the story.

Spike caught sight of the others, and turned away from the story. "We ready to head out?"

Buffy and Dawn continued into the room, not answering.

Willow handed Xander a package of blood and one of the blankets.

Andy blinked. "But what happened next?"

"I'll be by the door when you're all ready to leave," Xander announced, ignoring Tess and heading down the hall.

Tess made a move to join him, but Willow caught her arm.

"Just give him some time," Willow urged. "He doesn't like what's happened to him, and he doesn't want an audience."

Tess nodded, turning back to the others.

Spike looked back to Andy, not as motivated to tell every detail. "Well, they brought her back in, she got cured, Xander went for a nap, and Willow called you. After that Willow was telling us all what to say and we moved the suspicious stuff outa' the building. We finished just when you got here. The end." He looked to Buffy again. "Now are we ready?"

Willow shook her head. "Let's give Xander a couple minutes. We should make one more sweep of the cells to make sure there aren't any stray plastic bags, bandages, or other things that don't belong."

"And I need to head outside and put up that yellow tape like I said I would," Andy announced.

"Could you use any help?" Dawn offered Andy.

"Sure. You can help me set up the security cones," Andy said happily.

The others went down the hall as Dawn and Andy headed up the steps. As they left, they made a point not to stare at Xander.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6:20 PM - Xander's Hotel Room

Xander woke suddenly, a little disoriented. The last thing he remembered was laying on the floor near the exit to the lab. He sat up and, noticing the shaft of light shining past the broken curtains, realized that he was back in his hotel room.

He was alone and the room seemed strangely quiet. For the first time, he wasn't able to hear every creek and buzz present in the room. The room also seemed dimmer than it had before. Even with the light coming in at the edges of the curtains the room still seemed darker than it had been the first night he'd come into the room.

"At least the magic is doing me _some_ good in the _feeling human_ department," he muttered to himself as he put his feet on the floor. He stood and went to the window. Knowing that the sun had all ready gone down, he opened the curtains to look out.

The twilight was brighter than he'd expected and it made his eyes ache a little. After only a few moments, the pain was gone and he felt no discomfort at all.

There came a knock at his door. "Xander? Are you awake?" Willow asked through the door. "The local news said that the sun set about five minutes ago, and all the info I could find on Balfords suggested that they always sleep during the day, but always wake up as soon as the sun goes down." Given Xander's inability to wake that afternoon as they left the lab, she knew that the Balford was likely to still be potent even with the spell.

Xander went to the door and opened it, greeting Willow with a relaxed smile. "How can I help you?" He stepped aside and motioned for her to come inside.

Willow smiled, glad to see that he seemed to be feeling better. "Have you had anything to drink yet?" She came into the room.

Xander shut the door. He didn't feel dizzy or light-headed, the way he had at the lab. "No, but I don't feel like I need to. Maybe the spell is helping me not need as much _to drink_ as before." He still couldn't bear to say the word _blood_. "Because it's working better than before; I can see and hear like normal again."

Willow waited a moment before answering. "Well, you'd better be careful not to wait too long; I don't want you to faint or anything."

Xander nodded. "I'll have some when I need it."

Willow sighed, changing the subject. "We're going to be on a flight out of the airport at 2 am--that'll put us back in Sunnydale just before sunrise."

Xander was disappointed that his cure may be moving farther and farther away every moment. "So we aren't heading to some other city? Just back to Sunnydale?"

She nodded. "For now, but we're going to go to the hospital to see if the others might have remembered anything about where the scientists are heading next. Tess called about an hour ago, and said she'd be allowed to leave at 9 pm."

Xander sighed. "What do all of you think about Tess coming with us?"

"I think it's her choice, and I can understand why she wants to," Willow answered easily. "Not only because she likes you, but she needs closure before her life can get back to normal."

"I guess you're right."

They were quiet for a few minutes.

Willow hesitated a little before speaking. "D-Do you blame any of us for what happened to you when they caught you again? For us not coming for you sooner?"

Xander shook his head a little, looking around the wrecked room. "No." His voice wasn't very convincing. "You had to wait until they didn't expect you to come. Magic was the one thing they weren't expecting; if you'd have tried it at the wrong time I might still be in one of their cages." His eyes were resting on the broken curtains, wondering if the spell she used would ever get strong enough to let him painlessly go into sunlight again.

Her lip began to quiver a little. The thought of him chained to a wall the way they'd found the other prisoners was suddenly too overwhelming. Willow rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as she burst into tears. She'd done her best to be strong and to keep her distance as he'd wished, but with her spell obviously working so well on him she had no more need to hold back.

Xander was a little surprised. Since his friends had found him, she hadn't really shown him _anything _except for fear, concern, and the occasional optimistic cheer she expressed so easily. He gladly returned the hug, a little relieved that she wasn't as repulsed by what he'd become as he thought she might be.

She started to sob even harder when he touched her, grabbing more tightly as she pressed her cheek against his chest.

He gave a small laugh, a little breathless from her grip. "I may be a demon, but I'm the kind that has to breath."

"S-Sorry," she sobbed, loosening her grip. "It's j-just, I've been so worried about you.," she said in a small voice. "I thought I lost you, and I don't know anything else I can do to help you."

He gently pushed her away, looking into her eyes.

She sniffed a little, her eyes still welled with tears.

He wiped some of them from her cheek with his thumb. "You've already done more for me than anyone ever has. You saved me."

She started crying again.

Xander pulled her closer to him, doing what he could to comfort her. He, Willow, and Buffy had been through more together than most people Xander had ever known. Willow had almost let her grief destroy the world, but Xander helped her through the pain. Buffy had faced extreme dangers throughout the trio's friendship, but Willow and Xander had been by her side through it all. Now, when Xander's condition almost destroyed him, Willow's magic and Buffy's friendship saved him.

A few snow flakes passed by the window as they stood there.

"It's been a while since we've seen snow," Xander commented casually, reaching over and pulling open the curtains before wrapping his arms around her again.

As they stared at the snow they both felt a little more relaxed. They realized that each of them had been through so much in the last few years that as long as their group remained together, they would be able to survive whatever else they were going to be put through.


End file.
